Locker Adaption System and Related Method for Consumer In-Door, Out-Door and Curbside Goods Delivery and Pickup Services and for Merchant Store Pickup Services

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a locker and system for secured delivery of goods to consumer wherein the locker may be 1) positioned within a building or home such that one door is accessible outside the building or home and a second door is accessible within the building or home; 2) positioned on a property, potentially near a curbside and accessible to a delivery vehicle from a street; or 3) positioned at a commercial location such that one door is accessible to the public and a second door is accessible to the workers at the commercial location. Delivery may occur via drone or human with selected access given to the designated locker door. In accordance with the foregoing objects, an embodiment of the present invention generally comprises a service provider, a service client, an operator (seller or inspector), an end user (buyer or end user), and at least one chamber having at least one remotely controlled electronic door in communication with a service provider, service client, and/or operator.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.16/271,365 filed Feb. 8, 2019 which is set to issue as U.S. Pat. No.10,643,413, which claims the benefit and priority of U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/628,250 filed Feb. 8, 2018 entitled LockerAdaption System and Related Method for Consumer In-Door, Out-Door andCurbside Goods Delivery and Pickup Services and for Merchant StorePickup Services and is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser.No. 16/268,077 filed Feb. 5, 2019 entitled Chamber having at least oneremotely controlled door and system for securely passing or deliveringgoods or securely passing people which claims the benefit of PCTApplication Serial No. PCT/US17/45799 filed Aug. 7, 2017, which is aninternational application that claims the benefit of and priority toeach of the applications listed below:

(1) U.S. Application Ser. No. 62/371,506 filed Aug. 5, 2016 titledSelf-service security goods scanning stations with one or moreself-service security goods scanner chambers with two or more remotelycontrolled electronic doors, accessible to one or more users with orwithout one or more security x-ray scanners;

(2) U.S. Application Ser. No. 62/371,518 filed Aug. 5, 2016 entitledSelf-service security body scanning stations with one or moreself-service security body scanner chambers with three or more remotelycontrolled electronic doors, accessible to one or more users with orwithout one or more security body scanners;

(3) U.S. Application Ser. No. 62/371,530 filed Aug. 5, 2016 entitledElectronic security storage stations with one or more electronicsecurity storage boxes with one or more remotely controlled electronicdoors, accessible to one or more users.

and Each application noted above is incorporated by reference.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to goods passage protocols for ConsumerIn-Door Goods Services use a Secured Private Area (Private Area) withinPhysical Structures with at least one Secured Electronic Locker wherethe Secured Electronic Locker is owned by consumers (Consumer Locker)that incorporates one or more electronically controlled doors that areoperated as standalone or operated as part of a network where legalresidents of the Private Area and the owners of the Consumer Locker areone and the same where the Consumer Locker is used by the consumerlocker owners and by users authorized by the consumer locker ownerswhere the users are referred as authorized users for use in securelyleaving goods inside the Consumer Locker either by the consumer lockerowners or by the authorized users and for use in securely picking upgoods from the Consumer Locker either by consumer locker owners or byauthorized users and the Consumer Locker is physically attached to thePrivate Area and being used as bi-directional goods passage pathway inbetween outside of the Private Area and inside of the Private Area withat least one electronically secured door that is common between outsideof the Private Area and inside of the Consumer Locker and facing outsideof Private Area where the electronically secured common door isaccessible to the consumer locker owners and authorized users and withat least one electronically or mechanically secured door that is commonbetween the inside of the Consumer Locker and inside of the Private Areaand facing inside of Private Area where the electronically ormechanically secured common door is accessible only to consumer lockerowners and the electronically or mechanically secured common door may bepart of the Consumer Locker or part of the Private Area or both.

It also relates to goods passage protocols for use in in-door goodsdelivery services where goods are left into Consumer Lockers that aresecurely attached to Private Areas of Secured Physical Structures fromoutside of Private Areas by authorized users of the Consumer Lockers andgoods that are left are picked up from the Consumer Lockers from insideof Private Areas by owners of the Consumer Lockers.

It also relates to goods passage protocols for use in in-door goodspickup services where goods are left inside Consumer Lockers that aresecurely attached to Private Areas of Secured Physical Structures frominside of Private Areas by owners of the Consumer Lockers and the goodsthat are left are picked up from the Consumer Lockers from outside ofPrivate Areas by authorized users of the Consumer Lockers.

The present invention also relates to goods passage protocols forConsumer In-Door Goods Services use a Secured Area consists of a SecuredPrivate Area (Private Area) with at least one Secured Common Area(Common Area) that are attached to each other where the Common Area maybe indoor or outdoor and incorporates one or more electronicallycontrolled doors that are operated as standalone or operated as part ofa network where legal residents of the Private Area and Common Area areone and the same where the Common Area is used by the legal residentsand by users authorized by the legal residents where the users arereferred as authorized users for use in securely leaving goods insidethe Common Area either by the legal residents or by the authorized usersand for use in securely picking up goods from the Common Area either bylegal residents or by authorized users where the Common Area is used asbi-directional goods passage pathway in between outside of the SecuredArea and inside of the Private Area with at least one electronicallysecured door that is common between outside of the Secured Area andinside of the Common Area and facing outside of the Secured Area wherethe electronically secured common door is referred as common area outerdoor and is accessible to the legal residents and authorized users andwith at least one electronically or mechanically secured door that iscommon between the inside of the Common Area and outside of the PrivateArea and facing inside of Private Area where the electronically ormechanically secured common door is referred as common area inner doorand is accessible only to legal residents and the common area inner doormay be part of the Common Area or part of the Private Area or both.

It also relates to goods passage protocols for use in in-door goodsdelivery services where goods are left from outside of Secured Areasinto Common Areas that are securely attached to Private Areas where theCommon Areas and the Private Areas are part of the Secured Areas byauthorized users of the Common Areas and the goods that are left arepicked up from the Common Areas from inside of the Private Areas bylegal residents of the Common Areas and Private Areas.

It also relates to goods passage protocols for use in in-door goodspickup services where goods are left from Private Areas into CommonAreas by legal residents of the Common Areas and Private Areas where thePrivate Areas and Common Areas are attached to each other within SecuredAreas and the goods that are left are picked up from the Common Areasfrom outside of Secured Areas by authorized users of the Common Areas.

The present invention also relates to goods passage protocols forOut-Door Goods Services use at least one Secured Electronic Locker wherethe Secured Electronic Locker is owned by consumers (Consumer Locker)that incorporates one or more electronically controlled doors that areoperated as standalone or operated as part of a network and placedwithin the boundaries of Private Property where legal owners of thePrivate Property and the owners of the Consumer Locker are one and thesame where the Consumer Locker is used by the consumer locker owners andby users authorized by the consumer locker owners where the users arereferred as authorized users for use in securely leaving goods insidethe Consumer Locker either by the consumer locker owners or by theauthorized users and for use in securely picking up goods from theConsumer Locker either by consumer locker owners or by authorized usersand the Consumer Locker is used as a holding area for bi-directionalgoods passage between the authorized users and the locker owners.

It also relates to goods passage protocols for use in out-door goodsdelivery services where goods are left into Consumer Lockers that placedwithin the boundaries of locker owners' property by authorized users ofthe Consumer Lockers and the goods that are left are picked up from theConsumer Lockers by owners of the Consumer Lockers.

It also relates to goods passage protocols for use in out-door goodspickup services where goods are left into Consumer Lockers that areplaced within the boundaries of locker owners' property by owners of theConsumer Lockers and the goods that are left are picked up from theConsumer Lockers by authorized users of the Consumer Lockers.

The present invention also relates to goods passage protocols forConsumer Curbside Goods Services use at least one Secured ElectronicConsumer Locker (Locker) that incorporates one or more electronicallycontrolled doors that are operated as standalone or operated as part ofa network and placed within the boundaries of Private Property butcloser to curbsides and accessible to delivery trucks where legal ownersof the Private Property and the owners of the Consumer Locker are oneand the same where the Consumer Locker is used by the consumer lockerowners and by trucks authorized by the consumer locker owners where thetrucks are referred as authorized trucks for use in securely leavinggoods inside the Consumer Locker either by the consumer locker owners orby the authorized trucks and for use in securely picking up goods fromthe Consumer Locker either by consumer locker owners or by authorizedtrucks and the Consumer Locker is used as a holding area forbi-directional goods passage between the authorized users and theauthorized trucks.

It also relates to goods passage protocols for use in consumer curbsidegoods delivery services where goods are left into Lockers, that areplaced within the boundaries of locker owners' property but closer tocurbsides and accessible to delivery trucks, by authorized trucks of theConsumer Lockers and the goods that are left are picked up from theConsumer Lockers by owners of the Consumer Lockers.

It also relates to goods passage protocols for use in consumer curbsidegoods pickup services where goods are left into Lockers, that are placedwithin the boundaries of locker owners' property but closer to curbsidesand accessible to delivery trucks, by owners of the Consumer Lockers andthe goods that are left are picked up from the Consumer Lockers byauthorized trucks of the Consumer Lockers.

It also relates to goods passage protocols for use in securely leavinggoods into Consumer Lockers and for use in securely picking up goodsfrom the Consumer Lockers where the Consumer Lockers can have one ormore additional racks and when the Consumer Lockers have more than onerack, each rack will be assigned a unique number within each ConsumerLocker and rack numbers will be displayed in machine readable format aswell as in human readable format so that goods can be left into specificrack or can be picked up from specific rack.

It also relates to goods passage protocols for use in securely leavinggoods into Consumer Lockers and for use in securely picking up goodsfrom the Consumer Lockers where the Consumer Lockers can also haveadditional compartments outside the Consumer Lockers where thosecompartments can be used to pass goods that are less valuable and neednot be secured.

It also relates to goods passage protocols for use in securely leavinggoods into Consumer Lockers and for use in securely picking up goodsfrom the Consumer Lockers where the doors of the Consumer Lockers thatare accessible to authorized users and consumer locker owners can beoperated by Standalone Locks and the Consumer Lockers would be known asStandalone Consumer Lockers.

It also relates to goods passage protocols for use in securely leavinggoods into Consumer Lockers and for use in securely picking up goodsfrom the Consumer Lockers where the doors of the Consumer Lockers thatare accessible to authorized users and consumer locker owners of theConsumer Lockers can be operated by Networked Locks connected toNetworked Lock Servers and the Consumer Lockers would be known asNetworked Consumer Lockers.

It also relates to goods passage protocols for use in securely leavinggoods into Standalone Consumer Lockers and for use in securely pickingup goods from the Standalone Consumer Lockers by authorized users andconsumer locker owners of the Standalone Consumer Lockers can only beHumans.

It also relates to goods passage protocols for use in securely leavinggoods into Networked Consumer Lockers and for use in securely picking upgoods from the Networked Consumer Lockers by authorized users andconsumer locker owners of the Networked Consumer Lockers where theauthorized users can be Humans, Drones with automated delivery and/orpickup mechanism, Driver-Driven Trucks with automated delivery and/orpickup mechanism and Driver-Less Trucks with automated delivery andpickup mechanism.

It also relates to goods passage protocols for use in securely leavinggoods into Networked Consumer Lockers and for use in securely picking upgoods from the Consumer Lockers by authorized users and consumer lockerowners of the Networked Consumer Lockers where the Networked ConsumerLockers can be set to be accessible to Humans by the locker owners.

It also relates to goods passage protocols for use in securely leavinggoods into Networked Consumer Lockers and for use in securely picking upgoods from the Consumer Lockers by authorized users and consumer lockerowners of the Networked Consumer Lockers where the Networked ConsumerLockers can be set to be accessible to Drones by the locker owners.

It also relates to goods passage protocols for use in securely leavinggoods into Networked Consumer Lockers and for use in securely picking upgoods from the Consumer Lockers by authorized users and consumer lockerowners of the Networked Consumer Lockers where the Networked ConsumerLockers can be set to be accessible to Trucks by the locker owners.

It also relates to goods passage protocols for use in securely leavinggoods into Dummy Consumer Lockers by shippers, for use in securelypicking up goods from Dummy Consumer Lockers by Drones where the DummyConsumer Lockers are without locks when the Dummy Consumer Lockers areplaced in a restricted area like a fenced-in area.

It also relates to goods passage protocols for use in securely leavinggoods into Dummy Consumer Lockers by Drones, for use in securely pickingup goods from Dummy Consumer Lockers by recipients where the DummyConsumer Lockers are without locks when the Dummy Consumer Lockers areplaced in a restricted area like a fenced-in area.

It also relates to over the counter order passage protocols for use insecurely leaving goods into Store Pickup Lockers by sellers, for use insecurely picking up goods from Store Pickup Lockers by buyers where theStore Pickup Lockers are placed inside merchant locations.

It also relates to drive-thru order passage protocols for use insecurely leaving goods into Store Pickup Lockers by sellers, for use insecurely picking up goods from Store Pickup Lockers by buyers where theStore Pickup Lockers are placed in drive-thru lanes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Increasingly consumers are placing online delivery orders with e-tailers(retailer selling goods via electronic transactions on the Internet)over the internet and with retailers over the phone. Consumers can belegal residents of single or multiple-family homes. For example, USPS(United States Postal Service) alone delivered approximately 750 millionpackages during 2016 holiday season and UPS (United Parcel Service ofAmerica) is expecting to deliver approximately 750 million packagesduring 2017 holiday season.

The e-tailers and retailers are accepting and processing delivery orderswithout having a means for the delivery persons or for drones to leavethe goods inside recipients' living quarters without delivery persons ordrones entering into the living quarters, without providing a means fordelivery persons to leave the goods securely and guarded within theboundaries of intended recipients' property and without providing ameans for Drones or Delivery Trucks to automatically transfer goods intoNetworked Consumer Lockers which are similar to mail boxes where mailsare dropped.

The e-tailer and retailers engage outside delivery companies or usetheir own delivery services to deliver online orders. These deliveryservices use delivery trucks and delivery persons to deliver the goods.Without a secured way for the delivery persons to deliver the goods tointended recipients the delivery persons leave the goods at the intendedrecipients' front doors which is generally called door delivery or porchdelivery. Some delivery services are trying to use Drones for droppingthe delivery within the boundaries of intended recipients' propertywhich is generally called drone delivery. This may work only forsingle-family homes and only for the goods that are safe to be droppedand safe when exposed to harsh atmosphere.

When packages are left at the porches unguarded they are susceptible fortheft and thieves stealing unguarded packages from porches are calledPorch Pirates and the process is called Porch Piracy. Porch Piratestypically tail a delivery driver and pounce on the merchandise as soonas the driver is out of sight. Without a viable option for intendedrecipients to receive packages other than porch delivery, the intendedrecipients are using deterrent gadgets like video cameras and alarmswith sensors so that the intended recipients may get an alert and thealarm will go off. These gadgets do not prevent Porch Piracy but maydeter Porch Pirates. Determined Porch Pirates can still steal thepackages. Also, the intended recipients may not be online to receive thealert, by the time they receive the alert the packages might havealready been stolen. Also, because these gadgets use sensors which aresusceptible for any movement not just from Porch Pirates' movements, theintended recipients receive many false alerts. Companies like AugustHome and Ring provide such gadgets. August Home provides Doorbell Camwhereas Ring provides Ring Bell. Because the occurrence and the loss dueto Porch Piracy is very significant, even law enforcement officers arebecoming creative and are using GPS trackable bait packages to apprehendPorch Pirates. These UPS trackable bait packages have a device insidethe package that will broadcast its whereabouts that can be viewed bylaw enforcement officers on their computer or mobile devices in realtime. Law enforcement officers leave these GPS trackable bait packagesin front of home door steps selected at random and wait for a PorchPirates to pick up the package and then chase them to apprehend.Unfortunately, these techniques may not work, because the Porch Piratescan easily determine whether the stolen package is a bait package justby opening the package after stealing. Because, just by opening thepackage, the Porch Pirates can determine whether the stolen package is abait, the package can be thrown away and the law enforcement officerscan never be able to catch the Porch Pirates.

A report from insuranceQuotes.com released in December 2015 finds thatan estimated 23 million Americans have had packages stolen from theirhomes. When packages are sent via the U.S. Postal Service, FedEx, UPS orother goods carriers are stolen after being left at recipients'locations, home or renter's insurance can help pay for the loss—minusany deductible. Unfortunately, most of the time the value of thepackages sent each time would be much less than the deductible which mayusually be more than $1000.00. Moreover, the premium for subsequentperiods would raise because of one or more claims. Of course, theshippers may purchase insurance for the packages sent. The packageinsurance may not cover after the packages have been delivered torecipients' door steps. Moreover, the package insurance premiums arehigh compared to the value of the packages.

According to a report, published by NBC Nightly News on Dec. 11, 2015,the online retail sales for 2015 was estimated to reach $334 billion.According to a research report commissioned by August Home and conductedby Edelman Intelligence published on Oct. 25, 2016 about 11 million U.S.homeowners have had a package stolen within the past year with theaverage value of packages stolen costing $200 or more to replace. Thestudy was commissioned by August Home to promote their product AugustLock and Doorbell Cam.

As an alternative to Porch Delivery some e-tailers and shippingcompanies have setup neighborhood delivery stations, with a group ofdelivery lockers, placed in the recipients' neighborhoods. The deliveredgoods must be picked up by the recipients from the delivery lockers.This is nothing different than US Postal Service holding mails orshipping companies holding parcels or retailers providing online orderpick-up counters in their physical locations.

As an alternative to Porch Delivery and neighborhood delivery someemployers have setup office delivery stations where the employees canopt to get the deliveries to their work locations. The delivered goodsmust be picked up by the recipients from their work location deliverylockers. This is nothing different than neighborhood delivery stations.

Currently several lockers are readily available that can provide doordelivery where the lockers can be used by the delivery persons tosecurely leave the deliveries inside the lockers placed at recipients'door steps. These lockers have locks that can be opened with keys andcombinations.

The most popular locker with a key is the Elephant Trunk Drop Boxes,like the one predominantly used by shipping companies to accept shippingpackages. But, unfortunately the elephant trunk occupies most of theinner package space and only small and non-fragile packages can bedropped in. When many of the e-tailers are pharmacies, grocerymerchants, restaurants and big item sellers etc., the Elephant TruckDrop Boxes may not be the best solution.

The example for a locker with a combination lock is Porch Pirate Bag.The delivery person can leave the goods inside an unlocked bag and thenlock the bag with a combination lock left with the bag. The code tounlock the combination lock is preset by the Porch Pirate Bag owner.Porch Pirate Bags can be secured with a cable and lock to a front door,side gate, porch post or anywhere in the general area where packages arenormally left. Once it is locked, delivery persons cannot open the bagto place the goods. They must wait until the bag is unlocked again bythe bag owner or leave the package outside the bag. Because it is madeof fabric, Porch Pirates can cut the fabric. Moreover, the Porch Piratescan lock the Porch Pirate Bag so that the delivery person cannot openthe Porch Pirate Bag.

It is also possible for home owners to guard the packages left at theirdoor steps without having a locker using package guard services. Such aservice is provided by Package Guard where the delivery person wouldplace the packages one above the other on top of the Package Guard. Whena package stacked on the Package Guard is removed without the permissionof the recipient the Package Guard will sound an alarm, but will notprevent the Porch Pirate from stealing the packages. Again, this is onlya deterrent and cannot prevent.

Many times, the packages may be thrown away at the front doors causingdamages to contents of the package.

Currently several companies like Walmart and Amazon are providingdelivery services where the delivery persons can open the front door andleave the package. In order for them to provide this service Walmart haspartnered with August Home to use their August Lock which is a door lockand Doorbell Cam which is video recording device and Amazon haspartnered with Kwikset and Vale for electronic door looks and hasdeveloped its cloud cam known as Amazon Cloud Cam for video recording.The delivery person can use their cell phone or enter a one-time codesent to their cell phone to open the front door just one time and leavethe deliveries inside the home. For security reasons all the activitiesof the delivery person will be recorded using a video camera.Unfortunately, the service using a combination of door locks and videocameras has several flaws.

A similar service could be offered without an electronic door lock andvideo camera just by providing a small opening in the door through whichthe goods could be dropped and would have similar flaws.

Many homes may already have security systems with alarms and with orwithout central monitoring service. Such security systems may alreadyuse security cameras and additional security cameras would be redundantand incur additional cost for recipients. Also homes with securitysystems get police permits. When any door or window is opened, or anymovement or any noise sensed by sensors, the security system must beturned off immediately, if the security system is already on. Otherwise,the security system will immediately turn on the siren, notify thepolice and the monitoring company, if the security system is monitored.When law enforcement is notified about a security breach, then anofficer will immediately be dispatched. When false alarms occur morethan a few times then the home owner will be charged with a hefty fee.

Homes without a security system is a prime target for burglary. Burglarsmay not know whether a home is equipped with a security system or not.Delivery men entering into homes to provide Delivery Service would knowwhether a home is using a security system or not. This means that theintended recipients are giving away important security information.

Many homes have pets that are not on a leash while inside their homes.How the pets would react when a stranger enters a home when pet ownersare not present is unknown. Also, delivery persons may not know thelayout of the home where they are making the delivery and may get hurt.It is not clear who will be responsible for any mishap that can occur.If the home owners are liable, then it may not be acceptable to them.

Given the fundamentally flawed state of the art with respect todelivering goods to intended recipients' secured areas it is thereforethe overriding object of the present invention is to improve over theprior art of delivery persons leaving the goods unguarded on porches orthe prior art of delivery persons entering into recipients' securedprivate or living or business quarters by providing a system and relatedmethod by which the goods to be delivered will be safely delivered andprotected until they are picked up safely from inside or outside of theintended recipients' private or living or business quarters or byproviding a system and related method by which the goods will beautomatically and safely transferred from Drones into inside or outsideof intended recipients' private or living or business quarters where thedelivered goods will be protected until they are picked up safely byintended recipients. or by providing a system and related method bywhich the goods will be automatically and safely transferred from Trucksto intended recipients' curbside where the delivered goods will beprotected until they are picked up safely by intended recipients.

Given the fundamentally flawed state of the art with respect to pickingup goods from intended recipients' buildings it is therefore theoverriding object of the present invention is to improve over the priorart of shippers leaving the goods unguarded on porches or the prior artof goods carriers entering into shippers' secured private or living orbusiness quarters by providing a system and related method by which thegoods to be picked up will be safely protected until they are picked upsafely from inside or outside of the intended shippers' private orliving or business quarters by providing a system and related method bywhich the goods to be picked up will be automatically and safelytransferred into Drones from inside or outside of intended recipients'private or living or business quarters where the goods to be picked upwill be protected until they are picked up safely by goods carriers orby providing a system and related method by which the goods to be pickedup will be automatically and safely transferred into Trucks fromintended shippers' curbside where the goods to be picked up will beprotected until they are picked up safely by goods carriers.

Goods can be delivered or picked up without triggering alarm monitoringsystems and without entering the intended recipients' private or livingor business quarters and the intended recipients can retrieve or leavethe goods from inside of their private or living or business quarters.Such services could be called as Protected Consumer In-Door DeliveryServices and Protected Consumer In-Door Pickup Services respectively andcollectively be called as Protected Consumer In-Door Goods Services.Goods can also be delivered safely to porches or can be picked up safelyfrom porches without leaving them on the porch that is accessible toPorch Pirates. Such services could be called as Protected Out-DoorDelivery Services and Protected Out-Door Pickup Services respectivelyand collectively be called as Protected Consumer Out-Door GoodsServices. Goods can also be automatically transferred from Drones orDelivery Trucks into Networked Consumer Lockers and vice versa withoutleaving them unattended on the curb. Such services could be called asProtected Curbside Delivery Services and Protected Curbside PickupServices respectively and collectively be called as Protected ConsumerCurbside Goods Services.

Such Protected Consumer In-Door Goods Services, Protected ConsumerOut-Door Goods Services and Protected Consumer Curbside Goods Servicescan be easily and economically provided by the adaption of NetworkedConsumer Lockers built by using Networked Locks that are alreadyavailable and/or will be available in the future.

Such Protected Consumer In-Door Goods Services and Protected ConsumerOut-Door Goods Services can also be easily and economically provided bythe adaption of Standalone Consumer Lockers built by using StandaloneLocks that are already available and/or will be available in the future.

Such Protected Consumer In-Door Goods Services can also be easily andeconomically provided by using secured Common Areas which are protectedby doors operated by using Networked Locks that are already availableand/or will be available in the future or Standalone Locks that arealready available and will be available in the future.

Such Protected Consumer In-Door Goods Services can also be easily andeconomically provided by using secured Common Areas which are protectedby doors or garage doors or gates operated by using Networked Locks thatare already available and/or will be available in the future orStandalone Locks that are already available and/or will be available inthe future. Doors or garage doors or gates used for Common Areas willgenerally be referred as common area doors.

Increasingly buyers are placing online orders with retailers for pick-upof the orders thru verbal communication and with face to facecommunication at over the counters or at drive-thru windows placed indrive-thru lanes at retailer physical locations. Because of thefundamental design with over the counters and with drive-thru windowsonly one order can be processed at a time per counter or per drive-thrulane and only with verbal communication and face to face. Because of thefundamental design with drive-thru windows the wait time for buyers topick up the orders is significantly high, and the number of ordershandled by sellers is significantly low. According to an annual reportfrom QSR Magazine (www.foodandwine.com/fwx/food/drive-thru-slower-2016)the average wait time for drive-thru orders in 2016 was 226.3 seconds.The wait times does not include the wait time spent by the buyers beforestarting verbal communication with the seller. The Longer wait times atdrive-thru windows not only affect the buyers and sellers but alsoadversely affect the environment.

Given the fundamentally flawed state of the art with respect to over thecounter pickups and drive-thru pickups it is therefore the overridingobject of the present invention is to improve over the prior art ofcounter pickups and drive-thru pickups by providing a system and relatedmethod by which delivery counters and the drive-thru windows can bereplaced with over the counter lockers and drive-thru lockers.

Such Counter Store Pickup and Drive-Thru Store Pickup can also be easilyand economically provided by using unlimited number of counter storepickup lockers per location and/or by using unlimited number ofdrive-thru store pickup lockers per drive-thru lane.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

For the sake of clarity owners of lockers can be Consumers or Merchants.Lockers owned by Consumers will be referred as Consumer Lockers. Lockersowned by Merchants will be referred as Store Pickup Lockers. Locks usedin the front side of lockers can be Networked or Standalone. Lockersthat use Networked locks in the front side of lockers will be referredas Networked Lockers. Lockers that use Standalone locks in the frontside of lockers will be referred as Standalone Lockers.

In accordance with the foregoing objects, the present invention-a lockeradaption system for adapting Consumer Lockers and/or Common Areas withat least one door for Protected Consumer In-Door Goods Services or forProtected Consumer Out-Door Goods Services or for Protected ConsumerCurbside Goods Services-generally uses:

-   -   Consumer Lockers Capable of having Networked Locks        -   Capable of controlling doors connected to the Networked            Locks        -   Having lock and unlock switches        -   Displaying a lock identification number in QR Code and/or            Bar Code and/or Text format etc.        -   Capable of accepting manual request through switches to            unlock or lock the controlling doors with or without            authorization code manual input through an optional key pad        -   Capable of accepting contactless request to unlock or lock            the controlling doors from drones and/or delivery trucks        -   Capable of displaying messages in response to request            through switches        -   Capable of being part of a Networked Lock Server        -   Having an option to include keypad        -   Having an option to include display screen        -   Having options to include scanners to read machine readable            code such as QR Code, Bar Code and Text etc.        -   Having options to include devices for contactless transfer            of data such as Radio Frequency Identifiers (RFID),            Bluetooth and Near Field Communication etc.        -   Having an option to include bins with bin numbers displaced            in QR Code and/or Bar Code and/or Text format etc.        -   Having an option to include bins with bin numbers in Radio            Frequency Identifiers (RFID), Bluetooth and Near Field            Communication etc.        -   The Networked Lock Server capable of accepting authorization            code requests through an API from authorized merchants and            goods carriers        -   The Networked Lock Server capable of accepting locker            advance authentication requests through an API from            authorized merchants and goods carriers        -   The Networked Lock Server capable of accepting authorization            code requests through mobile apps or through web sites from            consumer locker owners        -   The Networked Lock Server capable of accepting advance            authentication requests through a mobile app or through web            sites from consumer locker owners        -   The Networked Lock Server capable of accepting advance            authentication requests through a mobile app from authorized            users such as joint consumer locker owners and            delivery/pickup persons    -   Lockers Capable of having Standalone Locks        -   Capable of controlling doors connected to the Standalone            Locks        -   Displaying a lock identification number in QR Code and/or            Bar Code and/or Text format etc.        -   Having an option to include keypad        -   Capable of accepting requests through switches to unlock or            lock the controlling doors with authorization code input            through key pad        -   Capable of being programmed to store authorization codes by            authorized owners and joint owners        -   Having an option to include bins with bin numbers in QR Code            and/or Bar Code and/or Text format etc.    -   The lockers with Networked Locks and/or Standalone Locks being        used for Protected Consumer In-Door Goods Services        -   Capable of having a door facing exterior with hollow back            facing the interior and Capable of being installed in            temporarily secured barriers like sliding windows        -   Capable of having a door facing exterior and another door            facing interior and Capable of being installed in            permanently secured barriers like openings in walls    -   The lockers with Networked Locks and/or Standalone Locks being        used for Protected Consumer Out-Door Goods Services        -   Capable having a door with closed back        -   Capable of being installed within boundaries of locker            owners' property but in the exterior and accessible to            delivery persons        -   Lockers with Networked Locks would also be accessible to            drones    -   The lockers with Networked Locks being used for Protected        Consumer Curbside Goods Services        -   Capable having a door with closed back        -   Capable of being installed within boundaries of locker            owners' property but in the exterior but closer to curbside            and accessible to delivery trucks

In accordance with the foregoing objects, the present invention-a lockeradaption system for adapting Consumer Lockers and/or Common Areas withat least one door for Protected Consumer In-Door Goods Services or forProtected Consumer Out-Door Goods Services or for Protected ConsumerCurbside Goods Services-generally comprises for consumer locker owners

-   -   Means to select appropriate locations and install lockers for        Protected Consumer In-Door Goods Services    -   Means to select appropriate door and/or gates of Secured Common        Areas to install locks in the doors and/or gates for Protected        Consumer In-Door Goods Services    -   Means to select appropriate locations and install lockers for        Protected Consumer Out-Door Goods Services    -   Means to select appropriate locations and install lockers for        Protected Consumer Curbside Goods Services    -   Means to select appropriate doors and/or gates and install locks        in the appropriate doors and/or gates for Protected Consumer        In-Door Goods Services    -   Means to register Networked Consumer Lockers and doors with        Networked Locks with service providers    -   Means to use service providers to accept/deny requests from        Networked Locks to lock and/or unlock the Networked Locks        through authentication of owners, merchants, goods carriers and        authorized users    -   Means to use service providers to add/update one-time use        authorization code as well as unlimited use authorization codes        that can be used by authorized users to unlock and/or lock    -   Means to register Standalone Consumer Lockers and doors with        Standalone Locks with service providers        for merchants    -   Means to register Merchants with service providers    -   Means to add/update request for authorization code to unlock        and/or lock Consumer Lockers and/or doors and/or gates with        Locks    -   Means to provide advance authentication for delivery persons        and/or drones and/or delivery trucks to unlock or lock Networked        Lockers        for goods carriers    -   Means to register goods carriers with service providers    -   Means to add/update request for authorization code to unlock        and/or lock Consumer Lockers and/or doors and/or gates with        Locks    -   Means to provide advance authentication for delivery persons        and/or drones and/or delivery trucks to unlock or lock Networked        Lockers for authorized users    -   Means to use full or one or more parts of tracking number, as        pre-determined by locker owners, to lock or unlock Consumer        Lockers and/or doors and/or gates    -   Means for authorized users registered with consumer locker        owners to request service providers for a code to lock or unlock        Consumer Lockers and/or doors and/or gates    -   Means for authorized users registered with consumer locker        owners to request service providers for advance authentication        to lock or unlock Consumer Lockers and/or doors and/or gates    -   Means to request merchants for a code to lock or unlock Consumer        Lockers and/or doors and/or gates which request will be        forwarded by the merchants to service providers    -   Means to request merchants for advance authentication to unlock        or lock Consumer Lockers and/or doors and/or gates which request        is forwarded by the merchants to service providers    -   Means to request goods carriers for a code to lock or unlock        Consumer Lockers and/or doors and/or gates which request will be        forwarded by the merchants to service providers    -   Means to request goods carriers for advance authentication to        lock or unlock Consumer Lockers and/or doors and/or gates which        request will be forwarded by the goods carriers to service        providers for delivery drones    -   Means to request merchants for advance authentication to unlock        or lock which request will be forwarded by the merchants to        service providers    -   Means to request goods carriers for advance authentication to        unlock and/or lock which request will be forwarded by the goods        carriers to service providers for delivery trucks    -   Means to request merchants for advance authentication to unlock        and/or lock which request will be forwarded by the merchants to        service providers    -   Means to request goods carriers for advance authentication to        unlock and/or lock which request will be forwarded by the goods        carriers to service providers

In accordance with the foregoing objects, the present invention-a lockeradaption system for adapting Merchants Lockers for Counter Store Pickupor Drive-Thru Order Pickup-generally comprises for buyers

-   -   Means to get counter store pickup locker number where the order        is placed    -   Means to unlock the counter store pickup locker    -   Means to pick-up order from unlocked counter store pickup locker    -   Means to view and select an available drive-thru store pickup        locker    -   Means to lock an available drive-thru store pickup locker    -   Means to pick-up orders from unlocked drive-thru store pickup        locker for sellers    -   Means to own and install counter store pickup lockers    -   Means to view and select an available counter store pickup        locker    -   Means to load order and lock counter store pickup locker    -   Means to own and install internal and external drive-thru store        pickup lockers    -   Means to receive order information and drive-thru store pickup        locker number    -   Means to place orders into internal drive-thru store pickup        lockers and/or send the orders to external drive-thru store        pickup lockers and to unlock the lockers

It is now noted that as used herein an “networked lock” shall forpurposes of the present invention be expressly defined to mean “lockingdevice which operates by means of electric current with an electroniccontrol assembly connected to the locking device that use magnets,solenoids, motors or other mechanism to actuate the locking device byeither supplying or removing power, where the electronic controlassembly is also connected to a networked lock server thru an internetor intranet, where the electronic control assembly is also identifiableto the networked lock server thru a unique identifier to the networkedlock server, where the networked lock is registered by an owner wherethe owner can be a consumer or a merchant using the unique identifierwith the networked lock server, where the unique identifier with orwithout additional information can be displayed as a machine readablecode such as bar code, QR code etc., and/or can be displayed as a humanreadable text and/or can be electronically communicated to devices suchas blue tooth, radio frequency identifiers, near field communicationdevices and the like, where the electronic control assembly can lock orunlock the locking device upon verification of a request received thruelectric switches connected to the electronic control assembly to lockor unlock the locking device with or without a code received thru akeypad connected to the electronic control assembly, where theelectronic control assembly can also lock or unlock the locking devicewhen a request is received from authorized devices using a wirelessprotocol and a valid cryptographic digital key, where the electroniccontrol assembly may or may not be part of a smart home

It is now noted that as used herein a “standalone lock” shall forpurposes of the present invention be expressly defined to mean “astandalone lock which operates as a standalone lock where the standalonelock can be programmed using a key pad attached to the standalone lockfor a reasonable number of one-time use codes and for a reasonablenumber of repeat use codes, where the one-time and/or repeat use codescan be used to lock and/or unlock the standalone lock, where thestandalone lock may have lock and unlock button, where the standalonelock may be opened with or without a handle, the standalone lock may ormay not have a handle and the standalone lock can be registered by anowner where the owner can be a consumer with a service provider.”

It is now noted that as used herein an “authorized user” shall forpurposes of the present invention be expressly defined to mean “an ownerof a mobile device where the mobile device has been authorized as anauthorized mobile device by consumer locker owners (O) of specifiedlockers as well as delivery/pick up persons acting on behalf of goodscarriers (G) where the goods carriers (G) are registered with serviceproviders (P) and delivery/pick up persons acting on behalf of merchants(M) where the merchants (M) are registered with service providers (P).”The owner of the mobile devices could be joint legal owners of consumerlockers other than the registered consumer locker owner (O) as well ascould be delivery/pick up persons themselves.

It is now noted that as used herein an “front door” shall for purposesof the present invention be expressly defined to mean “a door of alocker that is controlled by front side lock where the type of the frontside lock can be ‘networked’ or ‘standalone’ or ‘not used’ and the frontside lock type ‘not used’ will be valid only for lockers accessible bydrones.”

It is now noted that as used herein a “networked locker” shall forpurposes of the present invention be expressly defined to mean “a lockerwhich incorporates a networked lock to lock and/or unlock the front doorattached to the locker.”

It is now noted that as used herein a “standalone locker” shall forpurposes of the present invention be expressly defined to mean “a lockerwhich incorporates a standalone lock to lock and/or unlock the frontdoor attached to the locker.”

It is now noted that as used herein a “dummy locker” shall for purposesof the present invention be expressly defined to mean “a locker whichincorporates no lock to lock and/or unlock the front door attached tothe locker.” A dummy locker can be used only by drones and when thelocker is placed inside a restricted area like a fenced-in area.

It is now noted that as used herein a “locker” shall for purposes of thepresent invention be expressly defined to mean “a locker that is anetworked or standalone locker unless the locker is specificallymentioned as networked locker or standalone locker.”

It is now noted that as used herein a “default authorization code” shallfor purposes of the present invention be expressly defined to mean “aone-time authorization code that can be used to unlock the front door ofa locker and the one-time authorization code is a pre-determined patternof a tracking number where the goods pertaining to the tracking numberneeds to be either delivered to the locker or to be picked up from thelocker and the pre-determined pattern will be clearly posted near thelocker so that the delivery or pickup person can unlock the locker.” Forexample, the pre-determined pattern to determine a one-timeauthorization might be such as 4 characters starting from 5^(th)character or last 6 characters of tracking number and the like.

It is now noted that as used herein a “networked common area” shall forpurposes of the present invention be expressly defined to mean “a commonarea which incorporates a networked lock to lock and/or unlock a door ofthe common area where the door is operable by authorized users who arenot the consumer locker owners of the networked lock and by consumerlocker owners of the networked lock.”

It is now noted that as used herein a “standalone common area” shall forpurposes of the present invention be expressly defined to mean “a commonarea which incorporates a standalone lock to lock and/or unlock a doorof the common area where the door is operable by authorized users whoare not the consumer locker owners of the standalone lock and byconsumer locker owners of the standalone lock.”

It is now noted that as used herein an “common area” shall for purposesof the present invention be expressly defined to mean “a common areathat is a networked or a standalone common area unless the common areais specifically mentioned as networked common area or standalone commonarea.”

It is now noted that as used herein an “common area outer door” shallfor purposes of the present invention be expressly defined to mean “adoor of a common area that incorporates a networked or a standalone lockand is operable by authorized users who are not legal residents of thecommon area.”

It is now noted that as used herein an “common area inner door” shallfor purposes of the present invention be expressly defined to mean “adoor of a common area that incorporates a networked or a standalone lockand is operable exclusively by legal residents of the common area.”

It is now noted that as used herein a “goods handlers” shall forpurposes of the present invention be expressly defined to mean “anydelivery person making goods delivery or goods pickups and same asdelivery persons.”

It is now noted that as used herein an “authorized owner of locker” or“owner of locker” or “locker owner” shall for purposes of the presentinvention be expressly defined to mean “a person or entity thatcurrently owns or rents or leases or have full and sole control inauthorizing other persons or entities to lock or unlock by way ofone-time code or permanent code or by way of mobile or web site orapplications or interfaces provided by a locker network with whom thelocker is registered by the person or entity.”

It is now noted that as used herein an “consumer in-door goods lockers”shall for purposes of the present invention be expressly defined to mean“any locker that can provide Protected Consumer In-Door Goods Services.”

It is now noted that as used herein an “consumer in-door goods commonareas” shall for purposes of the present invention be expressly definedto mean “any common area that can provide Protected Consumer In-DoorGoods Services.”

It is now noted that as used herein an “consumer out-door goods lockers”shall for purposes of the present invention be expressly defined to mean“any locker that can provide Protected Consumer Out-Door GoodsServices.”

It is now noted that as used herein a “consumer curbside goods lockers”shall for purposes of the present invention be expressly defined to mean“any locker that can provide Protected Consumer Curbside GoodsServices.”

It is now noted that as used herein a “kitchen lockers” shall forpurposes of the present invention be expressly defined to mean “anylocker that can provide Protected Consumer In-Door Goods Services andeasily accessible to kitchen and/or perishable goods can be stored.”Consumer Locker owners (O) can designate any locker as a “kitchenlocker.” Lockers can be used for the following goods services:

-   -   Protected Consumer In-Door Goods Services    -   Protected Consumer Out-Door Goods Services    -   Protected Consumer Curbside Goods Services    -   Counter Store Pickup and Drive-Thru Order Pickup        Protected Consumer in-Door Goods Services

In at least some implementations of the present invention, the lockeradaption system for the purpose of providing Protected Consumer In-DoorGoods Services generally comprises installation of Consumer Lockers inbuildings at specific locations, where the Consumer Lockers have asingle door in the front and a hollow opening in the back, where theowners of the Consumer Lockers and legal residents of the buildings areone and the same, where the specific locations are barriers temporarilysecured like a vertical sliding or horizontal sliding or hanging windowwith one or more latches that separate exterior from interior where theexterior being the area available for the authorized users or drones ofthe Consumer Lockers to provide Protected Consumer In-Door GoodsServices and the interior being area available for the authorized ownersof the Consumer Lockers to receive the Protected Consumer In-Door GoodsServices. When the windows are closed and latched from interior, thewindows cannot be opened from interior or exterior and goods cannot bepassed thru the windows. The consumer locker owners from the interior ofthe building would keep the windows closed and latched all the timeexcept when the consumer locker owners from the interior needs to pickup the delivered goods or to leave goods inside the Consumer Lockers forpickup. The frame of the Consumer Locker back side, that is hollow,would be tightly attached to the exterior side of the temporary barrierand the single door of the Consumer Locker would be accessible toauthorized users and/or drones For Protected Consumer In-Door GoodsDelivery, the authorized users or drones would open the door of theConsumer Locker and leave the goods inside the Locker, the consumerlocker owners could easily see the content of the Consumer Locker thruthe window, the consumer locker owners would simply unlatch and open thewindow and pick up the delivered goods from the Locker. For ProtectedConsumer In-Door Goods Pickup, the consumer locker owners would simplyunlatch and open the window and leave the goods to be picked up into theLocker, the authorized users or drones would open the door of theConsumer Locker and pick up the goods from inside the Locker. If theConsumer Lockers are Standalone Consumer Lockers then drones may not beable to provide the Protected In-Home Goods Services, because drones maynot be able to communicate with Standalone Consumer Lockers.

In at least some implementations of the present invention, the lockeradaption system for the purpose of providing Protected Consumer In-DoorGoods Services generally comprises installation of Consumer Lockers inbuildings at specific locations, where the Consumer Lockers have twodoors one in the front and one in the back, where the owners of theConsumer Lockers and legal residents of the buildings are one and thesame, where the specific locations are permanent opening that could be ahollow space where an existing window is removed or an opening cut inthe wall joining the exterior and the interior, where the exterior beingthe area available for the authorized users or drones of the ConsumerLockers to provide Protected Consumer In-Door Goods Services and theinterior being area available for the owners of the Consumer Lockers toreceive the Protected Consumer In-Door Goods Services where the frontdoor of the Consumer Locker would be facing the exterior and where theback door of the Consumer Locker would be facing the interior. Theconsumer locker owners from the interior of the building would keep theback door closed and locked all the time except when the consumer lockerowners from the interior needs to pick up the delivered goods or needsto leave goods for pickup. When the front door of the Consumer Lockersis unlocked by authorized users or by drones the authorized users ordrones can deliver the goods into the Consumer Lockers or pick up thegoods from the Consumer Lockers When the back door of the ConsumerLocker is unlocked by the consumer locker owners of the Consumer Lockersthe consumer locker owners can pick up the delivered goods from theConsumer Lockers or leave the goods into the Consumer Lockers that needto be picked up. The back side of the Consumer Locker would be tightlyattached to the exterior side of the permanent opening or the front sideof the Consumer Locker would be tightly attached to the interior side ofthe permanent opening and the front door of the Locker. When the backside of the Consumer Locker is tightly attached to the exterior side ofthe permanent opening then the Consumer Locker would be protruding onthe exterior side. When the front side of the Consumer Locker is tightlyattached to the interior side of the permanent opening then the ConsumerLocker would be protruding on the interior side. A sensor can also beadded to the back door of the Consumer Lockers to connect to an existingor future security system. For Protected Consumer In-Door GoodsDelivery, the authorized users or drones would open the front door ofthe Consumer Locker and leave the goods inside the Locker, the consumerlocker owners would open the back door of the Consumer Locker and pickup the delivered goods from the Locker. For Protected Goods Pickup, theconsumer locker owners would simply open the back door of the ConsumerLocker and leave the goods to be picked up inside the Lockers, theauthorized users or drones would open the front door of the ConsumerLocker and pick up the goods from the Consumer Lockers. If the ConsumerLockers are Standalone Consumer Lockers then drones may not be able toprovide the Protected Consumer In-Door Goods Services, because dronesmay not be able to communicate with Standalone Consumer Lockers.

In at least some implementations of the present invention, the lockeradaption system for the purpose of providing Protected Consumer In-DoorGoods Services generally comprises attachment of Locks to doorsconnecting outside of a secured area with a common area in the inside ofthe secured area where the consumer locker owners of Locks and legalresidents of common area are one and the same where the common area inthe inside of the secured area is also connected thru one or more doorsto private area in the inside of the secured area where the common areain the inside of the secured area is accessible to both legal residentsof the private area and authorized users of common area whereas theprivate area in the inside of the secured area is accessible only tolegal residents of the private area. The legal residents of the privatearea would keep the door connecting outside of the secured area withcommon area in the inside of the secured area and the door connectingprivate area with common area in the inside of the secured area closedall the time and when the door connecting outside of the secured areawith common area in the inside of the secured area is unlocked byauthorized users of common area the authorized users of common area candeliver the goods inside the common area or pick up the package forshipping from the common area. When the door connecting outside of thesecured area with common area in the inside of the secured area or anyone of the doors connecting the common area with private area in theinside of the secured area is unlocked by legal residents of the privatearea, the legal residents of the private area can pick up the deliveredgoods from the common area or leave packages for shipping that needs tobe picked up within the common area. The common area may not be part ofan electronic monitoring system even when the private area is part of anelectronic monitoring system so that the electronic monitoring systemwill not sound alarm or notify the monitoring servers when the doorconnecting outside of the secured area with common area in the inside ofthe secured area is opened. This would enable the authorized users ofcommon area to deliver or pickup goods without triggering the electronicmonitoring system. The common area can be an enclosed in-door area orcan be a garage or can be an out-door area with an enclosed fence.

Protected Consumer Out-Door Goods Services

In at least some implementations of the present invention, the lockeradaption system for the purpose of providing Protected Consumer Out-DoorGoods Services generally comprises installation of Consumer Lockers inwithin the boundaries of a property but outside secured building wherethe Consumer Lockers have just one door with all the other sides closed,where the owners of the Consumer Lockers and owners of the property areone and the same, where the Consumer Lockers are accessible toauthorized users or drones of the Consumer Lockers to provide ProtectedOut-Door Goods Services and the Consumer Lockers are accessible toowners of the Consumer Lockers to receive Protected Out-Door GoodsServices. The consumer locker owners would keep the door of the ConsumerLocker closed all the time except when the consumer locker owners needto pick up the delivered goods or need to leave packages for shipping.When the door of the Consumer Lockers is unlocked by authorized users orby drones the authorized users or drones can deliver the goods into theConsumer Lockers or pick up the goods from the Consumer Lockers. Whenthe door of the Consumer Locker is unlocked by the consumer lockerowners of the Consumer Lockers the consumer locker owners can pick upthe delivered goods from the Consumer Lockers or leave packages forshipping inside the Consumer Lockers that needs to be picked up. If theConsumer Lockers are Standalone Consumer Lockers then drones may not beable to provide the Protected Consumer Out-Door Goods Services, becausedrones may not be able to communicate with Standalone Consumer Lockers.

Protected Consumer Curbside Goods Services

In at least some implementations of the present invention, the lockeradaption system for the purpose of providing Protected Consumer CurbsideGoods Services generally comprises installation of Consumer Lockerswithin the boundaries of a property but outside secured building andcloser to curbside of the property where the Consumer Lockers areaccessible to delivery trucks and have just one door with all the othersides closed, where the owners of the Consumer Lockers and owners of theproperty are one and the same, where the Consumer Lockers are accessibleto authorized users or drones or driver-driven delivery trucks ordriver-less trucks to provide Protected Consumer Curbside Goods Servicesand the Consumer Lockers are accessible to owners of the ConsumerLockers to receive Protected Consumer Curbside Goods Services. Theconsumer locker owners would keep the door of the Consumer Locker closedall the time except when the consumer locker owners need to pick up thedelivered goods or need to leave packages for shipping for pickup. Whenthe door of the Consumer Lockers is unlocked by authorized users or bydriver-driven delivery trucks or driver-less delivery trucks theauthorized users or driver-driven delivery trucks or driver-less truckscan deliver the goods into the Consumer Lockers or pick up the packagesfor shipping from the Consumer Lockers. When the door of the ConsumerLocker is unlocked by the consumer locker owners of the Consumer Lockersthe consumer locker owners can pick up the delivered goods from theConsumer Lockers or leave the packages for shipping inside the ConsumerLockers that needs to be picked up. If the Consumer Lockers areStandalone Consumer Lockers then driver driven delivery trucks ordriver-less trucks may not be able to provide the Protected ConsumerCurbside Goods Services, because driver-driven or driver-less deliverytrucks may not be able to communicate with Standalone Consumer Lockers.

Counter Store Pickup and Drive-Thru Order Pickup

In at least some implementations of the present invention, the lockeradaption system for providing Counter Store Pickup generally comprisesinstallation of Store Pickup Lockers where front side of the StorePickup Lockers is accessible for buyers from indoor area of the sellerand back side is accessible for sellers and the Store Pickup Lockers canbe available for sellers only from inside where the pickup orders areprepared. The Store Pickup Lockers available for sellers from indoorarea of the seller can be referred as Counter Store Pickup lockers. Thelegal owners of the Store Pickup Lockers and sellers are one and thesame. The sellers can leave the pickup orders inside the Counter StorePickup lockers. The Store Pickup Lockers can be a one door Store PickupLocker with a door on the front side and a hollow back side. The StorePickup Locker can also be a two door Store Pickup Locker with a door onthe front side and a door on back side. The front door of the StorePickup Locker will be installed with Networked lock. The Store PickupLockers can be used for passage of goods from seller to buyer and one ormore such Store Pickup Lockers can be installed by the sellers. Thebuyers would pick up the orders that are left by the sellers inside theCounter Store Pickup lockers.

In at least some implementations of the present invention, the lockeradaption system for providing Drive-Thru Store Pickup generallycomprises installation of Store Pickup Lockers where front side of theStore Pickup Lockers is accessible for buyers from drive-thru lanes andback side is accessible for sellers and the Store Pickup Lockers can beavailable for sellers from inside or outside of a building where thepickup orders are prepared. The lockers available for sellers frominside of the building can be referred as Drive-Thru Store PickupInternal lockers while the lockers available for sellers from outside ofthe building can be referred as Drive-Thru Store Pickup Externallockers. The legal owners of the Store Pickup Lockers and sellers areone and the same. The sellers can leave the pickup orders inside theinternal lockers whereas the sellers can transport the pickup orders toexternal lockers by means of drones or y tubes or by any other means.The Store Pickup Lockers can be a one door Store Pickup Locker with adoor on the front side and a hollow back side. The Store Pickup Lockercan also be a two door Store Pickup Locker with a door on the front sideand a door on back side. The front door of the Store Pickup Locker willbe installed with Networked lock. The Store Pickup Lockers can be usedfor passage of goods from seller to buyer in a drive-thru lane and oneor more such Store Pickup Lockers can be installed by the sellers. Thebuyers would pick up the orders that are left by the sellers inside theStore Pickup Lockers.

A store pickup locker with two doors can also be used as a Counter StorePickup Locker as well Drive-Thru Store Pickup Internal lockers.

Finally, many other features, objects and advantages of the presentinvention will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the relevantarts, especially in-light of the foregoing discussions and the followingdrawings, exemplary detailed description and appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Although the scope of the present invention is much broader than anyparticular embodiment, a detailed description of the preferredembodiment follows together with illustrative FIGS., wherein likereference numerals refer to like components, and wherein:

FIGS. 1 and 2 show, in an overview use case diagrams, the various basicfunctionality implemented in the preferred embodiment of the lockeradaption system and method of the present invention.

FIG. 1 shows, in an overview use case diagram, the various lockerinstallation functionality implemented in the preferred embodiment ofthe locker adaption system and method for Protected Consumer In-DoorGoods Services, Protected Consumer Out-Door Goods Services and ProtectedConsumer Curbside Goods Services in accordance with the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 shows, in a flowchart, an overview of the various steps generallytaken in providing access for installed Consumer Lockers throughauthorization and/or through advance authentication for ProtectedConsumer In-Door Goods Services, Protected Consumer Out-Door GoodsServices and Protected Consumer Curbside Goods Services in accordancewith the present invention.

FIG. 3 shows, in a flowchart, an overview of the various steps generallytaken in installing Consumer Lockers for Protected Consumer In-DoorGoods Services, Protected Consumer Out-Door Goods Services and ProtectedConsumer Curbside Goods Services.

FIG. 4 shows, in a flowchart, an overview of the various steps generallytaken in installing Locks to Common Area Doors for Protected ConsumerIn-Door Goods Services.

FIG. 5 shows, in a flowchart, an overview of the various steps generallytaken in Lock Management.

FIG. 6 shows, in a flowchart, an overview of the various steps generallytaken in Manual Delivery/Pickup by Authorized Users.

FIG. 7 shows, in a flowchart, an overview of the various steps generallytaken in Drone Delivery/Pickup by Drones.

FIG. 8 shows, in a flowchart, an overview of the various steps generallytaken in Truck Delivery Delivery/Pickup by Driver-Driven or Driver-LessDelivery Trucks.

FIG. 9 shows, in a flowchart, an overview of the various steps generallytaken in Owner Pick-up of Deliveries or Owner Placement of Packages forShipping.

FIG. 10 shows, various components of generic Networked Lock Kit andStandalone Lock that can be used to control the doors of ConsumerLockers and Common Areas (Rooms, Garage and Fence Gates).

FIG. 11 shows, a generic layout of Single and Multi-Family Home that canbe used as an example in selecting location for In-Door Goods ConsumerLockers.

FIG. 12 shows, various components of an Networked Consumer Locker with aSingle Door and with a hollow backside.

FIG. 13 shows, various components of an Networked Consumer Locker withDouble Doors.

FIG. 14 shows, various components of a Standalone Consumer Locker with aSingle Door and with a closed backside.

FIG. 15 shows, Intermediary Frame that connects Owner Exterior withOwner Interior through Consumer Lockers.

FIG. 16 shows, Installation of Networked Locks to Common Area FenceGates.

FIG. 17 shows, Installation of Networked Locks to Common Area Door.

FIG. 18 shows, Installation of Networked Locks to Common Area GarageDoor.

FIG. 19 shows, in a flowchart, an overview of the various stepsgenerally taken in Owner Registration.

FIG. 20 shows, in a flowchart, an overview of the various stepsgenerally taken in Merchant Registration.

FIG. 21 shows, in a flowchart, an overview of the various stepsgenerally taken in Goods Carrier Registration.

FIG. 22 shows, in a flowchart, an overview of the various stepsgenerally taken in Consumer Locker Registration.

FIG. 23 shows, in a flowchart, an overview of the various stepsgenerally taken in Authcode Request from Consumer Locker owners.

FIG. 24 shows, in a flowchart, an overview of the various stepsgenerally taken in Mobile Device Registration by registered Owners

FIG. 25 shows, in a flowchart, an overview of the various stepsgenerally taken in Authcode Request API from Merchants and/or GoodsCarriers.

FIG. 26 shows, in a flowchart, an overview of the various stepsgenerally taken in Authentication API from Merchants and/or GoodsCarriers.

FIG. 27 shows, in a class diagram, a high-level schema for arepresentative authorized owner database (44-8) as may be implementedfor Protected Consumer In-Door Goods Services, Protected ConsumerOut-Door Goods Services and Protected Consumer Curbside Goods Servicesin accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 28 shows, in a class diagram, a high-level schema for arepresentative authorized merchant database (44-9) as may be implementedfor Protected Consumer In-Door Goods Services, Protected ConsumerOut-Door Goods Services and Protected Consumer Curbside Goods Servicesin accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 29 shows, in a class diagram, a high-level schema for arepresentative authorized goods carrier database (44-10) as may beimplemented for Protected Consumer In-Door Goods Services, ProtectedConsumer Out-Door Goods Services and Protected Consumer Curbside GoodsServices in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 30 shows, in a class diagram, a high-level schema for arepresentative locker database (44-11) as may be implemented forProtected Consumer In-Door Goods Services, Protected Consumer Out-DoorGoods Services and Protected Consumer Curbside Goods Services inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 31 shows, in a class diagram, a high-level schema for arepresentative locker authorization code database (44-12) as may beimplemented for Protected Consumer In-Door Goods Services, ProtectedConsumer Out-Door Goods Services and Protected Consumer Curbside GoodsServices in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 32 shows, in a class diagram, a high-level schema for arepresentative locker authentication database (44-13) as may beimplemented for Protected Consumer In-Door Goods Services, ProtectedConsumer Out-Door Goods Services and Protected Consumer Curbside GoodsServices in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 33 shows, in a class diagram, a high-level schema for arepresentative mobile device database (44-14) as may be implemented forProtected Consumer In-Door Goods Services, Protected Consumer Out-DoorGoods Services and Protected Consumer Curbside Goods Services inaccordance with the present invention.

FIGS. 34-L and 34-D show, in a class diagram, a high-level schema for arepresentative Add/Update Owner Information form as may be implementedfor Protected Consumer In-Door Goods Services, Protected ConsumerOut-Door Goods Services and Protected Consumer Curbside Goods Servicesin accordance with the present invention.

FIGS. 35-L and 35-D show, in a class diagram, a high-level schema for arepresentative Add/Update Merchant Information form as may beimplemented for Protected Consumer In-Door Goods Services, ProtectedConsumer Out-Door Goods Services and Protected Consumer Curbside GoodsServices in accordance with the present invention.

FIGS. 36-L and 36-D show, in a class diagram, a high-level schema for arepresentative Add/Update Goods Carrier Information form as may beimplemented for Protected Consumer In-Door Goods Services, ProtectedConsumer Out-Door Goods Services and Protected Consumer Curbside GoodsServices in accordance with the present invention.

FIGS. 37-L and 37-D show, in a class diagram, a high-level schema for arepresentative Add/Update Consumer Locker Information form as may beimplemented for Protected Consumer In-Door Goods Services, ProtectedConsumer Out-Door Goods Services and Protected Consumer Curbside GoodsServices in accordance with the present invention.

FIGS. 37-M-L and 37-M-D show, in a class diagram, a high-level schemafor a representative Add/Update Store Pickup Locker Information form asmay be implemented for Merchant Store Pickup Services in accordance withthe present invention.

FIGS. 38-L, 38-S and 38-D show, in a class diagram, a high-level schemafor a representative Add/Update Authcode Information form as may beimplemented for Protected Consumer In-Door Goods Services, ProtectedConsumer Out-Door Goods Services and Protected Consumer Curbside GoodsServices in accordance with the present invention.

FIGS. 39-L, 39-S and 39-D show, in a class diagram, a high-level schemafor a representative Add/Update Mobile Device Information form as may beimplemented for Protected Consumer In-Door Goods Services, ProtectedConsumer Out-Door Goods Services and Protected Consumer Curbside GoodsServices in accordance with the present invention.

FIGS. 40-L and 40-D show, in a class diagram, a high-level schema for arepresentative Goods Carrier Information for owners as may beimplemented for Protected Consumer In-Door Goods Services, ProtectedConsumer Out-Door Goods Services and Protected Consumer Curbside GoodsServices in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 41 shows, in a top plan representation of a mobiletelecommunications device screen, an example of an advanceauthentication request such as may be implemented in accordance with thepresent invention.

FIGS. 42-A and 42-R show, in a class diagram, a high-level schema for arepresentative Add/Update Authcode Information API as may be implementedfor Protected Consumer In-Door Goods Services, Protected ConsumerOut-Door Goods Services and Protected Consumer Curbside Goods Servicesin accordance with the present invention.

FIGS. 43-A and 43-R show, in a class diagram, a high-level schema for arepresentative Add/Update Authentication Information API as may beimplemented for Protected Consumer In-Door Goods Services, ProtectedConsumer Out-Door Goods Services and Protected Consumer Curbside GoodsServices in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 44 shows, in a deployment diagram, an exemplary hardware andsoftware implementation of the locker adaption system and method of thepresent invention.

FIG. 45 shows, in a deployment diagram, various details of at least oneparticular implementation of a user interface for use in connection withthe exemplary hardware and software implementation of FIG. 44.

FIG. 46 shows a sample shipping label with Delivery Instructions.

FIG. 47 shows, various components of a generic Delivery/Pickup Drone anda generic Consumer Locker that can be used with.

FIG. 48 shows, various components of a generic Delivery/Pickup Truck anda generic Consumer Locker that can be used with.

FIG. 49 shows, in a flowchart, an overview of the various stepsgenerally taken in installing Store Pickup Lockers for Merchant StorePickup Services.

FIG. 50 shows, in a class diagram, a high-level schema for arepresentative store pickup database (44-15) as may be implemented forCounter Store Pickup and for Drive-Thru Store Pickup in accordance withthe present invention.

FIGS. 51-A and 51-R show, in a class diagram, a high-level schema for arepresentative Add/Update Authcode Information API as may be implementedfor Counter Store Pickup and for Drive-Thru Store Pickup in accordancewith the present invention.

FIGS. 52-A and 52-R show, in a class diagram, a high-level schema for arepresentative Add/Update Authentication Information API as may beimplemented for Counter Store Pickup and for Drive-Thru Store Pickup inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 53 shows, various components of a generic Counter Store Pickup andDrive-Thru Store Pickup and a generic Store Pickup Locker that can beused with.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Although those of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize manyalternative embodiments, especially in-light of the illustrationsprovided herein, this detailed description is exemplary of the preferredembodiment of the present invention, the scope of which is limited onlyby the claims appended hereto.

Referring now to the locker adaption system for In-Door, Out-Door andCurbside Goods Delivery and Pickup Services in accordance with thepresent invention comprises a service provider, a locker owner, amerchant, a goods carrier, an authorized user, a delivery person, adrone, a delivery truck and one or more lockers with one or more doorselectronically controlled by networked locks communicating thru a wiredor wireless network with a locker server or with one or more doorselectronically controlled by standalone locks and works broadly fordelivering packages at locker owner location which is not merchantlocation as following:

-   -   The locker owner would register with a service provider to        manage lockers to receive In-Door Goods Services, Out-Door Goods        Services and Curbside Goods Services (refer to FIGS. 19, 27, 34L        and 34D).    -   The merchants would also register with the service provider to        provide In-Door Goods Services, Out-Door Goods Services and        Curbside Goods Services (refer to FIGS. 20, 28, 35-L and 35D).    -   The goods carrier would also register with the service provider        to provide In-Door Goods Services, Out-Door Goods Services and        Curbside Goods Services (refer to FIGS. 21, 29, 36L and 36-D).    -   The locker owner would also register lockers with the service        provider where each the locker would be identified externally by        a number, known as locker number, assigned by the locker owner,        identified internally by the settings of a dip switch in the        lock kit or by a serial number assigned to the lock kit by the        lock kit manufacturer used by each electronically controlled        door, the side to which each electronically controlled door is        attached to and type of lock kit. The locker owner would display        the external locker number. If the lock kit is a networked lock        kit then the locker would be referred as networked locker,        otherwise it will be referred as standalone locker. The locker        owner would also display the internal identifier or owner id and        locker number of each controlled electronic door in a        machine-readable format such as QR Code, Bar Code, Text etc. If        the lock kit is networked lock kit then the lock kit may also        broadcast the internal identifier through a Beacon, RFID,        Bluetooth, NFC etc. (refer to FIGS. 10 thru 15, 22, 30, 37-L and        37-D).    -   Since merchants can also own lockers, the merchants could also        register lockers with the service provider where each the locker        would be identified externally by a number, known as locker        number, assigned by the locker owner, identified internally by        the settings of a dip switch in the lock kit or by a serial        number assigned to the lock kit by the lock kit manufacturer        used by each electronically controlled door, the side to which        each electronically controlled door is attached to. The owner id        of merchant owned locker would consist of 3 parts separated by        ‘-’ where the first part would be ‘M’, the second part would be        merchant id and the third part would be locations id. For        example, the owner id of merchant owned locker would be        ‘M-8211-65’ where 8211 could be merchant id and 65 could be        location id. The service provider (P) could easily differentiate        the type of owner of the locker from the content of owner id.        The merchant owned locker can use only networked lock kit and        the locker would be referred only as networked locker. The        merchant would display the external locker number. The merchant        would also display the internal identifier or owner id and        locker number of each controlled electronic door in a        machine-readable format such as QR Code, Bar Code, Text etc. The        lock kit may also broadcast the internal identifier through a        Beacon, RFID, Bluetooth, NFC etc. (refer to FIGS. 10, 53, 22,        30, 37-M-L and 37-M-D).    -   Each locker will use at least one controlled door that        incorporates a lock kit that would control the unlocking and        locking of the controlled door (refer to FIG. 10).    -   In case of networked locker, each the lock kit might provide        Administrator Switch Board as well Key Pad to unlock and lock        doors by the lock kits where the Administrator Switch Board        would be accessible only to owners of lockers namely consumer        locker owners or store pickup locker owners (refer to FIG. 10).    -   In case of networked locker, the consumer locker owner (O), if        the locker owner is not a merchant, would also use a mobile app        or a web site based on the specifications provided by the        service provider to set and/or request codes as one-time        authorization codes as well as unlimited use authorization codes        that can be used to unlock any specified electronic door where        the one-time and/or unlimited use authorization codes might        expire in a specific date and time (refer to FIGS. 23, 31, 38-L,        38-S and 38-D).    -   The consumer locker owner (O), if the locker owner is not a        merchant, would also use a mobile app or a web site based on the        specifications provided by the service provider to request the        service provider to set a specific mobile device as an        authorized mobile device that can be used as a joint owner        mobile device or delivery/pick-up person mobile device of any        specified locker where setting of the mobile device as an        authorized mobile device would expire in a specific date and        time. The consumer locker owner (O) would also be able to remove        the mobile devices from authorized mobile devices. (refer to        FIGS. 33, 39L, 39-S and 39-D). Joint owner mobile device can be        used to unlock and/or lock both front and back doors whereas        delivery/pick-up person mobile device can be used to unlock        and/or lock only front door.    -   In case of standalone locker, the consumer locker owner would        also use the key pad provided by the standalone lock kit to set        codes as one-time authorization codes as well as unlimited use        authorization codes that can be used to unlock any specified        door where the one-time and/or unlimited use authorization codes        might be deleted by the locker owner any time. In addition to        setting the codes in standalone locks, the consumer locker        owners would also be able to save those authorization codes in        the authorization code database (refer to FIGS. 23, 31, 38-L,        38-S and 38-D).    -   The consumer locker owners, joint owners and authorized users        would also use a mobile app provided by service provider to        request for advance authentication/autocade request for a        specific door (refer to FIG. 41).    -   The merchants and goods carriers would also use an API based on        the specifications provided by the service provider to inquire        and/or request and receive one-time authorization codes that can        be used to unlock any specified door of any networked locker        where the one-time authorization code might expire in a specific        date and time (refer to FIGS. 25, 42-A and 42-R).    -   The merchants and goods carriers would also use an API based on        the specifications provided by the service provider to request        for advance authentication for any specified door remotely where        the specified door is controlled by networked locks (refer to        FIGS. 26, 43-A and 43-R).    -   A user where the user may be a human being acting on behalf of        the merchant or goods carrier providing goods delivery or pickup        services could request the merchant or goods carrier for a        one-time authorization code that might expire in a specific date        and time.    -   A user where the user may be a human being acting on behalf of        the merchant or goods carrier providing goods delivery or pickup        services could request the merchant or goods carrier for an        advance authentication for a specific door where the specific        door must be a networked door and such advance authentication        would expire in a very short period of pre-determined time.    -   A drone where the drone being acting on behalf of the merchant        or goods carrier providing goods delivery or pickup services        could request the merchant or goods carrier for an advance        authentication for a specific door where the specific door must        be a networked door and such advance authentication would expire        in a very short period of pre-determined time.    -   A delivery truck where the delivery truck acting on behalf of        the merchant or goods carrier providing goods delivery or pickup        services could request the merchant or goods carrier for an        advance authentication for a specific door where the specific        door must be a networked door and such advance authentication        would expire in a very short period of pre-determined time.    -   A registered merchant, upon completing a sales transaction,        would use an API interface, based on service provider provided        specification, to set a code as a one-time use authorization        code or to receive a one-time authorization code with a        pre-determined expiration date and time for a specific order and        save the order tracking number and the code for future use. The        API interface would include the order delivery location and        optionally would include a specific locker external or internal        number if the specific locker external or internal number is        provided by the buyer of the goods. If the request is        successful, the merchant would save the one-time authorization        code, order tracking number and optionally a locker external        number along with directions and map for the location of the        locker. The one-time authorization code along with other        information like locker number and the directions to the locker        number would be printed on the shipping label.    -   A registered goods carrier upon receiving a package for delivery        would decide whether to get a one-time locker authorization code        based on the information provided on the shipping label. If a        one-time locker authorization code is required then the        registered goods carrier would use an API interface, based on        service provider provided specification, to set a code as a        one-time use authorization code or to receive a one-time        authorization code with a pre-determined expiration date and        time for a specific order and save the order tracking number and        the code for future use. The API interface would include the        order delivery location and optionally would include a specific        locker external or internal number if the specific locker        external or internal number is provided by the shipper of the        package. If the request is successful, the goods carrier would        save the one-time authorization code, order tracking number and        optionally a locker number along with directions and map for the        location of the locker. The one-time authorization code along        with other information like locker number and the directions to        the locker number would be printed on the shipping label.    -   The person delivering the package would use the directions        printed on the mailing slip to locate the locker and enter the        one-time authorization code in a key pad attached to the locker        and press unlock button to open the locker door to leave the        goods inside the locker. If a one-time authorization code is not        printed on the mailing slip or if the one-time authorization        code does not work then the delivery person can use a mobile        app, based on service provider provided specification, to scan        the QR Code, if one is available, printed on any locker.    -   If the mobile app is provided by a registered merchant then the        merchant would use an API interface, based on service provider        provided specification, would request the service provider to        provide an advance authentication for the person delivering the        package. If the mobile app is provided by a registered goods        carrier then the goods carrier would use an API interface, based        on service provider provided specification, would request the        service provider to provide advance authentication for the        person delivering the package. If the mobile app is provided by        the service provider and the mobile device is an authorized        mobile device to make the request, then the mobile device would        request the service provider to provide advance authentication        for the person delivering the package. In case of standalone        locks, instead of providing advance authentication, the service        provider (P) would respond with an authorization code. Upon        receiving a successful response, the delivery person would open        the locker by pressing the unlock button with or without        entering a code in the key pad and leave the goods inside the        locker. If a successful response is not received then the        delivery person would follow the instructions provided on the        locker, for example the instructions may be to use 4 characters        starting from 5^(th) character or to use last 6 digits of        tracking number. If the locker is opened successfully the        delivery person would leave the goods inside the locker,        otherwise would leave the goods outside the locker.    -   A drone delivering the package would communicate with the        merchant or the goods carrier based on whether the drone is        controlled by the merchant or goods carrier, the goods carrier        or the merchant would use an API interface, based on service        provider provided specification, would request the service        provider to provide advance authentication for a specific door.        Upon receiving a successful response, the drone would open the        locker, select the package or packages to be delivered and leave        them inside the locker.    -   A delivery truck delivering the package would communicate with        the merchant or the goods carrier based on whether the delivery        truck is controlled by the merchant or goods carrier, the        merchant or the goods carrier would use an API interface, based        on service provider provided specification, would request the        service provider to provide advance authentication for a        specific door. Upon receiving a successful response, the        delivery truck would open the locker, select the package or        packages to be delivered and leave them inside the locker.    -   The consumer locker owner would use a mobile app provided by the        service provider or use a multi-use code to open the lockers to        retrieve the delivered goods.

Referring now to the locker adaption system in accordance with thepresent invention comprises a service provider, a locker owner, amerchant, a goods carrier, an authorized user, a drone, a delivery truckand one or more lockers with one or more doors electronically controlledby networked locks communicating thru a wired or wireless network with alocker server or with one or more doors electronically controlled bystandalone locks and works broadly for picking packages for shipping asfollowing:

-   -   The locker owner or joint owners would use a mobile app provided        by the service provider or use a multi-use code to open the        lockers to leave a package for pick up.    -   The locker owner would request a goods carrier for a package        pick up by providing pick up address and optionally with a        tracking number and/or a code number.    -   In case of standalone locker or in case of a person picking up        the package and the person does not use a mobile device to open        the standalone locker, then the locker owner would add an        autocade in the authcode database where the authcode would be a        default code for the tracking number or a code made of a random        number    -   If a standalone locker is used by the locker owner, then the        locker owner would also manually add the authcode to the        standalone locker    -   The pickup person, upon arriving at the pickup location would        use a code provided to the pick up person by goods carrier or        use a default code based on the tracking number provided to the        pick up person by goods carrier or use a mobile app to scan the        QR Code attached to the locker to get a code or to get advance        authentication.    -   The pickup drone, upon arriving at the pick-up location would        scan the QR Code attached to the locker or electronically        receive an identifier from the locker to get advance        authentication.    -   The pickup truck, upon arriving at the pick-up location would        scan the QR Code attached to the locker or electronically        receive an identifier from the locker to get advance        authentication.    -   Optionally, the pick-up person or pick up drone or pickup truck        would also receive a bin number where the package for shipping        can be picked up.    -   Upon entering a code or upon getting advance authentication the        pick-up person or pick up drone or pickup truck would open the        locker to pick up the package for shipping.

Referring now to the locker adaption system for Merchant Store PickupServices in accordance with the present invention comprises a serviceprovider, a merchant who is also a locker owner, an associate acceptingorders, an associate handling orders and one or more store pickuplockers with one or more doors electronically controlled by networkedlocks communicating thru a wired or wireless network with a lockerserver and works broadly for delivering orders to buyers at merchantlocation as following:

-   -   The buyer opting to pick up orders at the store either inside of        the seller's building or at the seller's drive-thru lane would        place the orders in advance    -   The buyer opting to pick up orders at the store inside of the        seller's building with an order in advance would check-in by        scanning a QR Code    -   The buyer opting to pick up orders at the store inside of the        seller's building without an order in advance would place an        order at the seller's building inside.    -   The buyer placing order at the seller's building inside and        opting to pick up orders at the store inside of the seller's        building would be pre-checked and need not check-in using the QR        Code    -   The buyer opting to pick up orders at the store inside of the        seller's building after placing the order in advance or at the        store would receive a Counter Store Pickup locker number from an        order display monitor    -   The buyer opting to pick up orders at the store inside of the        seller's building scan a QR Code or enter an authcode displayed        on the Counter Store Pickup locker where the order to be picked        up is stored to open the locker and pick up the order    -   The buyer opting to pick up orders at the store from seller's        drive-thru lane with an order in advance would enter the        drive-thru lane thru a controlled arm or thru a signal    -   The buyer opting to pick up orders at the store from seller's        drive-thru lane without an order in advance would place an order        at the drive-thru lane and then enter the drive-thru lane thru a        controlled arm or thru a signal    -   The buyer opting to pick up orders at the seller's drive-thru        lane would scan QR Code or enter an authcode displayed on the        Drive-Thru Store Pickup locker to lock the locker and wait for        the locker to be unlocked by the seller and pick up the order

Referring now to the FIGS., and to FIG. 1 particular, the ConsumerLocker Adaption for Protected In-Door Goods Services, for ProtectedConsumer Out-Door Goods Services and for Protected Consumer CurbsideGoods Services 1 of the present invention, the locker installation,goods delivery and goods pickup are shown to generally comprise aservice provider (P), an operative combination of a plurality ofconsumer locker owners (O) implemented use cases 2, 3, 4 and 8, aplurality of locker authorized users (U) implemented use cases 4 and 5,a plurality of delivery drones (D) implemented use cases 4 and 6 and aplurality of delivery trucks (T) implemented use cases 4 and 7. The usecase 2 which is for installing lockers by consumer locker owners isfurther detailed in a very high lever flow chart 3-1 in FIG. 3 inaccordance with the present invention. The use case 2 which is forinstalling lockers by store pickup locker owners is further detailed ina very high lever flow chart 49-1 in FIG. 49 in accordance with thepresent invention.

The use case 3 which is for installing locks in common area doors andgates is further detailed in a very high lever flow chart 4-1 in FIG. 4in accordance with the present invention. The use case 4 which is forlock management is further detailed in a very high lever flow chart 5-1in FIG. 5 in accordance with the present invention. The use case 5 whichis for providing goods services by authorized users (U) is furtherdetailed in a very high lever flow chart 6-1 in FIG. 6 in accordancewith the present invention. The use case 6 which is for providing goodsservices by drones (D) is further detailed in a very high lever flowchart 7-1 in FIG. 7 in accordance with the present invention. The usecase 7 which is for providing goods services by authorized trucks (T) isfurther detailed in a very high lever flow chart 8-1 in FIG. 8 inaccordance with the present invention. The use case 8 which is forreceiving goods services by consumer locker owners (O) is furtherdetailed in a very high lever flow chart 9-1 in FIG. 9 in accordancewith the present invention.

Referring now to the FIGS., and to FIG. 2 in particular, the ConsumerLocker Adaption for Protected In-Door Goods Services, for ProtectedConsumer Out-Door Goods Services and for Protected Consumer CurbsideGoods Services 1 of the present invention, the locker authorizationand/or lock management is shown to generally comprise an operativecombination of a plurality of service providers (P) implemented usecases 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56 and use cases 57, a plurality ofmerchants (M) implemented use cases 51, 56 and 57 and a plurality ofgoods carriers (G) implemented use cases 56 and use 57. The use case(82) which is for consumer locker owners (O) to register with serviceprovider (P) is further detailed in a very high lever flow chart 19-1 inFIG. 19 in accordance with the present invention. The use case 51 whichis for merchants (M) to register with service provider (P) is furtherdetailed in a very high lever flow chart 20-1 in FIG. 20 in accordancewith the present invention. The use case 52 which is for goods carriers(G) to register with service provider (P) is further detailed in a veryhigh lever flow chart 21-1 in FIG. 21 in accordance with the presentinvention. The use case 53 which is for consumer locker owners (O) toregister lockers with service provider (P) is further detailed in a veryhigh-level flow chart 22-1 in FIG. 22 in accordance with the presentinvention. The use case 54 which is for consumer locker owners (O) torequest for authcode with service provider (P) is further detailed in avery high lever flow chart 23-1 in FIG. 23 in accordance with thepresent invention. The use case 54 which is for consumer locker owners(O) to add/update mobile devices with service provider (P) is furtherdetailed in a very high lever flow chart 24-1 in FIG. 24 in accordancewith the present invention. The use case 56 which is for merchants (M)and goods carriers (G) to inquire/add/update authorization codes withservice provider (P) is further detailed in a very high lever flow chart25-1 in FIG. 25 in accordance with the present invention. The use case57 which is for merchants (M) and goods carriers (G) to request foradvance authentication with service provider (P) is further detailed ina very high lever flow chart 26-1 in FIG. 26 in accordance with thepresent invention.

In general, to implement the use case 2, as also shown in FIG. 1, thelocker owner (O) of the present invention will generally use the means 9to locate a place, use the means 10 to select a lock kit, use the means11 to build a locker, use the means 12 to install the locker, use themeans 13 to place signs and use the means 14 to upload the directions.

In general, to implement the use case 2, as also shown in FIG. 1, themerchants (M) who also own store pickup lockers (MO) of the presentinvention will generally use the means 9 to locate a place, use themeans 10 to select a lock kit, use the means 11 to build a locker anduse the means 12 to install the locker.

In general, to implement the use case 3, as also shown in FIG. 1, thelocker owner (O) of the present invention will generally use the means15 to locate common area door/gate, use the means 16 to select a lockkit, use the means 17 to attach the kit.

In general, to implement the use case 4, as also shown in FIG. 1, thedelivery Drones (D) and delivery Trucks (T) of the present inventionwill generally use the means 18 to get locker number, use the means 22to request the lock server for advance authentication, use the means 21to unlock the lock and use the means 23 to access the inside of thelocker.

In general, to implement the use case 4, as also shown in FIG. 1, theconsumer locker owners (O) and authorized users (U) of the presentinvention will generally use the means 18 to use the networked lock, usethe means of 19 to enter the authcode in the key pad or use the means 22to request the lock server for advance authentication, use the means 21to unlock the locker and use the means 23 to access the inside of thelocker. The consumer locker owners (O) can also use the means 22 torequest for advance authentication and use the means 20 to lock thelocker.

In general, to implement the use case 4, as also shown in FIG. 1, theconsumer locker owners (O) and authorized users (U) of the presentinvention will also generally use the means 24 to use the standalonelocker, use the means of 25 to enter the authcode in the key pad, usethe means 27 to unlock the locker and use the means 28 to access theinside of the locker. The consumer locker owners (O) can also use themeans 25 to enter the authcode in the key pad and use the means 26 tolock the locker.

In general, to implement the use case 5, as also shown in FIG. 1, theauthorized users (U) of the present invention will generally use themeans 29 to get the signs and directions, use the means of 30 to locatethe locker, use the means 31 to open the locker, user the means 32 topick up the goods for shipping and/or use the means 33 to deliver thegoods. As part of the means 31 to open the locker the authorized users(U) would use the means 18 and the associated means in case of networkedlocks or the means 24 and the associated means in case of standalonelocks to open the locker.

In general, to implement the use case 6, as also shown in FIG. 1, theauthorized drones (D) of the present invention will generally use themeans 34 to download the directions, use the means of 35 to access thelocker, use the means 36 to open the locker, user the means 37 to pickup the goods for shipping and/or use the means 38 and 39 to deliver thegoods. As part of the means 36 to open the locker the authorized drones(D) would use the means 18 and the associated means to open the locker.

In general, to implement the use case 7, as also shown in FIG. 1, theauthorized trucks (T) of the present invention will generally use themeans 40 to download the directions, use the means of 41 to access thelocker, use the means 42 to open the locker, user the means 43 to pickup the goods for shipping and/or use the means 44 and 45 to deliver thegoods. As part of the means 42 to open the locker the authorized trucks(T) would use the means 18 and the associated means to open the locker.

In general, to implement the use case 8, as also shown in FIG. 1, theauthorized owners (O) of the present invention will generally use themeans of 46 and 47 to leave the goods for shipping and or pick thedelivered goods from protected in-door lockers, use the means of 46 and48 to leave the goods for shipping and or pick the delivered goods fromprotected out-door lockers and use the means of 46 and 49 to leave thegoods for shipping and or pick the delivered goods from protectedcurbside lockers.

In general, to implement the use case 50, as also shown in FIG. 2, theservice provider (P) of the present invention will generally provide ameans 58 for consumer locker owners to access a form to add or updateelectronic goods pick-up box. The locker owner (O) will generally usethe means 59 to submit the request to add or update locker owners. Theservice provider (P) will generally use the means 60 to approve or denythe locker owner's request.

In general, to implement the use case 51, as also shown in FIG. 2, theservice provider (P) of the present invention will generally provide ameans 61 for merchants (M) to access a form to add or update merchants.The merchant (M) will generally use the means 62 to submit the requestto add or update goods carriers. The service provider (P) will generallyuse the means 63 to approve or deny the merchant's request.

In general, to implement the use case 52, as also shown in FIG. 2, theservice provider (P) of the present invention will generally provide ameans 64 for goods carriers (G) to access a form to add or update goodscarriers. The goods carrier (G) will generally use the means 65 tosubmit the request to add or update goods carriers. The service provider(P) will generally use the means 66 to approve or deny the goodscarrier's request.

In general, to implement the use case 53, as also shown in FIG. 2, theservice provider (P) of the present invention will generally provide ameans 67 for consumer locker owners (O) to access a form to add orupdate lockers. The locker owner (O) will generally use the means 68 tosubmit the request to add or update lockers. The service provider (P)will generally use the means 69 to approve or deny the locker owner'srequest.

In general, to implement the use case 54, as also shown in FIG. 2, theservice provider (P) of the present invention will generally provide ameans 70 for consumer locker owners (O) to access a form to add orupdate authcode. The consumer locker owners (O) will generally use themeans 71 to submit the request to add or update authcode. The serviceprovider (P) will generally use the means 72 to approve or deny thelocker owner's request

In general, to implement the use case 55, as also shown in FIG. 2, theservice provider (P) of the present invention will generally provide ameans 73 for consumer locker owners (O) to access a form to add ormobile devices. The locker owner (O) will generally use the means 74 tosubmit the request to add or update mobile devices. The service provider(P) will generally use the means 75 to approve or deny the lockerowner's request.

In general, to implement the use case 56, as also shown in FIG. 2, theservice provider (P) of the present invention will generally provide ameans 76 for merchants (M) and goods carriers (O) to receive authcodeAPI specification. The merchants (M) and the goods carriers (G) willgenerally use the means 77 to submit the API to add or update authcode.The service provider (P) will generally use the means 78 to approve ordeny the merchant's and/or goods carrier's request.

In general, to implement the use case 57, as also shown in FIG. 2, theservice provider (P) of the present invention will generally provide ameans 79 for merchants (M) and goods carriers (O) to set lockerauthentication API specification. The merchants (M) and the goodscarriers (G) will generally use the means 80 to submit the API to add orupdate advance authentication. The service provider (P) will generallyuse the means 81 to approve or deny the merchant's and/or goodscarrier's request.

Referring now then to FIGS. 3 through 9 in particular, the ConsumerLocker Adaption method 82 of the present invention as operative upon thedescribed Consumer Locker Adaption for Protected Consumer In-Door GoodsServices, for Protected Consumer Out-Door Goods Services and forProtected Consumer Curbside Goods Services system 1 is shown togenerally comprise various series of interactions between ConsumerLocker Owners (O) and Consumer Lockers (L) that can be used byauthorized users (U) to provide Protected Consumer In-Door GoodsServices, Protected Consumer Out-Door Goods Services and ProtectedConsumer Curbside Goods Services, between Lock Owners (O) and commonarea doors (C) that can be used by authorized users (U) to provideProtected Consumer In-Door Goods Services, between Consumer LockerOwners (O) and Consumer Lockers (L) that can be used by delivery drones(D) to provide Protected Consumer In-Door Goods Services, ProtectedConsumer Out-Door Goods Services and Protected Consumer Curbside GoodsServices, between Consumer Locker Owners (O) and Consumer Lockers (L)that can be used by delivery trucks (T) to provide Protected ConsumerCurbside Goods Services, between authorized users (U) and ConsumerLockers (L) and common area doors (C) that can be used by authorizedusers (U) to provide Protected Consumer In-Door Goods between deliverydrones (D) and Consumer Lockers (L) that can be used by delivery drones(D) to provide Protected Consumer In-Door Goods Services, ProtectedConsumer Out-Door Goods Services and Protected Consumer Curbside GoodsServices, between delivery trucks (T) and Consumer Lockers (L) that canbe used by delivery trucks (T) to provide Protected Consumer CurbsideGoods Services, between Consumer Locker Owners (O), Consumer Lockers (L)and common areas (C) that can be used by consumer locker owners (O) topick-up delivered goods and/or to leave packages for shipping thruProtected Consumer In-Door Delivery Services, Protected Door DeliveryServices and Protected Curbside Delivery Services.

As particularly shown in FIG. 3, the Consumer Lockers Adaption method 82of the present invention generally comprises consumer locker owners (O)installing Consumer Lockers (L) for authorized users U, for deliverydrones (D) and for delivery trucks (T) to provide Protected In-HomeGoods Services, Protected Door Goods Services and Protected ConsumerCurbside Goods Services.

The installation of Consumer Lockers (L) by consumer locker owners (O)generally comprises determining a package size and installing ConsumerLockers (L) in unsecured areas as well as in secured areas within theboundaries of the locker owners' (O) property. Unsecured area is an areawhere the area is not enclosed by fences and/or compound walls so thatauthorized users (U) and/or delivery trucks (T) can access the ConsumerLockers (L) whereas secured area is an area where the area is enclosedby fences and/or compound walls and authorized users (U) cannot accessthe Consumer Lockers (L) but drones (D) can access the Consumer Lockers.Further, the installation of Consumer Lockers (L) by consumer lockerowners (O) generally comprises selecting an appropriate permanently ortemporarily protected barrier connecting the exterior with the interiorof the consumer locker owners (O) secured building thru the permanentlyor temporarily protected barrier and big enough for the determinedpackage size, determining the number of doors in the Consumer Lockersbased on the protected barrier type, assembling Consumer Lockers andinstalling Consumer Lockers (L) in the permanently or temporarilyprotected barrier. Further the installing of Consumer Lockers (L) byconsumer locker owners (O) also comprises selecting an appropriate placeoutside locker owners' (O) secured building but within the boundaries oflocker owners' (O) property, determining the size of the ConsumerLockers (L) based on the determined package size and installing lockersat the appropriate place with at least one door.

As particularly shown in FIG. 4, the in-door delivery method (82) of thepresent invention generally comprises consumer locker owners (O)attaching locks to common area doors (C) for authorized users (U) toprovide Protected Consumer In-Door Goods Services

The attachment of locks by consumer locker owners (O) to common areadoors (C) generally comprises determining a package size, selectingcommon area doors (C) big enough for the determined package size that isaccessible from unsecured areas by authorized users (U) within theboundaries of the locker owners' (O) property and attaching lock kits tothe common area doors C.

As particularly shown in FIG. 5, the Consumer Lockers Adaption method(82) of the present invention generally comprises Consumer Lockers (L)providing lock management for consumer locker owners (O), for authorizedusers U, for delivery drones (D) and for delivery trucks (T) to provideProtected Consumer In-Door Goods Services, Protected Consumer Out-DoorGoods Services and Protected Consumer Curbside Goods Services.

The lock management provided by Consumer Lockers (L) generally compriseslock management by Networked Consumer Lockers and by Standalone ConsumerLockers. The lock management by Networked Consumer Lockers generallycomprises selection of lock or unlock switch, an optional input of code,submitting a request to a lock server to which the lock of the locker ispart of, receiving a response from the locker and locking or unlockingor leaving the status as it is depending on the receipt of the response.The lock management by Standalone Consumer Lockers generally comprisesselection of lock or unlock switch, an input of code, processing therequest internally by the Standalone Locker, and locking or unlocking orleaving the status as it is, depending on the outcome of the request.

As particularly shown in FIG. 6, the Consumer Lockers Adaption method(82) of the present invention generally comprises authorized users (U)providing Protected In-Home Goods Services, Protected Door GoodsServices and Protected Consumer Curbside Goods Services.

The Protected Consumer In-Door Goods Services, Protected ConsumerOut-Door Goods Services and Protected Consumer Curbside Goods Servicesprovided by authorized users (U) generally comprises following signs anddirections to locate Consumer Lockers (L) and/or common area doors C,opening the Consumer Lockers (L) using a mobile device or using a codeor opening the common area doors (C) using a mobile device or using acode, picking up any packages for shipping left by the consumer lockerowners (O), and leaving any packages where intended recipients of thepackages are the owners of the Consumer Lockers (L) and/or common areadoors (C).

As particularly shown in FIG. 7, the Consumer Lockers Adaption method(82) of the present invention generally comprises drones (D) providingProtected Consumer In-Door Goods Services, Protected Door Goods Servicesand Protected Consumer Curbside Goods Services.

The Protected Consumer In-Door Goods Services, Protected ConsumerOut-Door Goods Services and Protected Consumer Curbside Goods Servicesprovided by drones (D) generally comprises downloading and followingdirections to locate Consumer Lockers (L), opening the Consumer Lockers(L), picking up any packages for shipping left by the consumer lockerowners (O), and leaving any packages where intended recipients of thepackages are the owners of the Consumer Lockers (L).

As particularly shown in FIG. 8, the Consumer Lockers Adaption method(82) of the present invention generally comprises driver-driven ordriver-less delivery trucks (T) providing Protected Consumer CurbsideGoods Services.

The Protected Consumer Curbside Goods Services provided by driver-drivenor driver-less delivery trucks (T) generally comprises downloading andfollowing directions to locate Curbside Consumer Lockers (L), openingthe Curbside Consumer Lockers (L), picking up any packages for shippingleft by the consumer locker owners (O), and leaving any packages whereintended recipients of the packages are the owners of the ConsumerLockers (L).

As particularly shown in FIG. 9, the Consumer Lockers Adaption method(82) of the present invention generally comprises consumer locker owners(O) receiving Protected Consumer In-Door Goods Services, ProtectedConsumer Out-Door Goods Services and Protected Consumer Curbside GoodsServices.

The Protected Consumer In-Door Goods Services, Protected ConsumerOut-Door Goods Services and Protected Consumer Curbside Goods Servicesreceived by consumer locker owners (O) generally comprises leavingpackages for shipping and picking up packages that are delivered inConsumer Lockers (L) and in common areas (C).

In order to better understand the architecture in providing ProtectedConsumer In-Door Goods Services, Protected Consumer Out-Door GoodsServices and Protected Consumer Curbside Goods Services, in accordancewith the present invention, a schematic diagram of a networked electriclock 10-1 as well as standalone electric lock 10-27 as shown in FIG. 10,a locker location diagram as shown in FIG. 11, a locker assembly diagramfor a single door with back side open as shown in FIG. 12, a lockerassembly diagram with two doors as shown in FIG. 13, a lockerinstallation diagram for a single door with back side closed as shown inFIG. 14, a locker mounting diagram as shown in FIG. 15, a lockattachment to a gate diagram as shown 16, a lock attachment to a doordiagram as shown 17, a lock attachment to a garage as shown 18 areprovided in detail.

As shown in FIG. 10, the service providers (P) provided networked locks10-1 could be used to lock/unlock connected locker doors as well asconnected doors, gates and garage doors remotely. As also shown in FIG.10 consumer locker owners (O) provided standalone locks 10-27 can beused to lock/unlock connected locker doors as well as connected doors,gates and garage doors manually.

Referring now then to FIGS. 10 through 18 in particular, presentinvention as operative upon the described Consumer Locker Adaption forProtected Consumer In-Door Goods Services, for Protected ConsumerOut-Door Goods Services and for Protected Consumer Curbside GoodsServices system 1 is shown to generally comprise various series ofinstructions in installing Consumer Lockers (L) that securely connectexterior with interior of secured buildings of consumer locker owners(O), in installing Consumer Locker (L) outside buildings but within theboundaries of properties of consumer locker owners (O), in installingConsumer Lockers (L) at curbsides within the boundaries of properties ofconsumer locker owners (O) and in attaching locks to common area doorsand/or gates (C) separating common area from private area within theboundaries of properties of consumer locker owners (O).

As particularly shown in FIG. 10, the present invention generallycomprises the general diagram of various components associated with ageneric networked lock and with a generic standalone lock that can beused in implementing the present invention.

Before continuing, however, it is noted that while the major componentsof generic networked lock and standalone lock depicted in FIG. 10 isexemplary of network lock and standalone lock that can be used in thepresent invention, it is in no manner meant to be all encompassing orotherwise limiting of the wide range of networked locks and standalonelocks as are possible. In addition, it is noted that the presentinvention does not comprise the invention of networked lock orstandalone lock and generic network lock and standalone lock are usedonly to explain various embodiments of the present invention. Stillfurther, it is noted that while for clarity of discussion varioushardware and software elements of networked lock and standalone lock aresegregated no such segregation should be deemed as required in anynetworked lock or standalone lock that can be used in the presentinvention.

As particularly shown in FIG. 10, the present invention generallycomprises the usage of networked lock and/or standalone lock by consumerlocker owners (O) in receiving Protected Consumer In-Door GoodsServices, Protected Consumer Out-Door Goods Services and ProtectedConsumer Curbside Goods Services.

Now referring to networked lock, the networked lock broadly consists ofcontroller, electric lock, keypad, switches and display monitor wherethe controller is a programmable controller having a set of instructionsthrough a loaded software. The controller 10-2 is the brain behind thenetworked lock receiving power through a power plug 10-5 or using abuilt-in power supply (batteries), communicating with networked lockserver through wi-fi connector 10-3 and/or Z-wave connector 10-4 orcommunicating with networked lock server through a combination ofBluetooth and wi-fi connectors or directly connected to computer whichin turn communicating with networked lock server or the computer servingas a network lock server, connecting to an electric lock 10-12 through acable 10-8, connecting to a key pad 10-13 through one or more cables10-9, connecting to administrator switch board 10-18 through one or morecables 10-10 and optionally connecting to a display monitor 10-22through one or more cables 10-11. The controller is mounted on acontroller board that can be installed inside or outside of any box toconvert the box into a networked locker and the controller board isprovided with 4 holes 10-A, 10-B, 10-C and 10-D where the 4 holes can beused to install the controller inside or outside of the box. Thecontroller may also have 2 indicators 10-6 and 10-7 to indicate theavailability of wi-fi or the availability or Bluetooth or dedicatedconnection to lock network 10-6 and to indicate the status of the lockwhether the lock is powered or not 10-7.

Electric locks can have 2 positions namely locked and unlockedpositions. Also, the electric locks can be 2 types namely Fail Safe orFail Secure. Fail Safe electric locks will take locked position when theelectric lock is powered, and it will take unlocked position when it isnot powered while Fail Secure electric locks will take locked positionwhen the electric lock is not powered, and it will take unlockedposition when it is now powered. Also, the electric locks can usedifferent locking mechanisms namely magnetic, solenoid and motors etc.The example of the electric lock shown in FIG. 10 is only for solenoidlocks, but any electric lock with any locking mechanism can be used. So,the type of electric locks that can be used in the present invention isnot limited to solenoid locks. Irrespective of types and mechanisms theelectric locks and garage doors will be controlled by the controllerbased on the input the controller receives directly from users and/orfrom networked lock servers. Also, the direct input can be manual by wayof keypads and switches or through machine readable code scanners suchas bar code scanners or QR code scanners or the like or throughcontactless devices such as blue tooth, radio frequency identifiers,near field communication devices or the like. Continuing then with FIG.10, the electric lock 10-12 is mounted on a lock board, which in turncan be mounted to the locker either to the door of the locker or to thelocker itself. The Lock board can be mounted to the door of the lockeror to the locker itself using the holes 10-E, 10-F, 10-G and 10-Hprovided in the lock board. In either way the electric lock 10-12 willengage with the lock catcher 10-23 to lock the door. So, if the lock10-12 is mounted to the locker then the lock catcher 10-23 will bemounted to the door of the locker and vice versa. The lock catcher 10-23will have 2 holes 10-0 and 10-P that can be used to mount the lockcatcher 10-23 to the door of the locker or to the locker. In case of amagnetic lock, instead of a solenoid lock 10-12 and lock catcher 10-23,a magnetic lock and an armature plate will be used. In case of a lockingmechanism with motor a lock controlled by the motor and a catcher willbe used.

As already stated, the controller 10-2 is connected to a key pad 10-13thru one or more cables 10-9. The keypad generally will have switches10-15 and 10-16 along with key buttons 10-14 for the consumer lockerowners (O) and authorized users (U) to request the controller to unlockor lock the Consumer Lockers (L) with or without any key input. Thekeypad generally will also have an indicator 10-17 to indicate theresult of a request. For example, if the indicator 10-17 lights up ingreen upon a request, then the request is valid, otherwise it is not.The key pad 10-13 will also have 4 holes 10-I, 10-J, 10-K and 10-L thatcan be used to mount on the Consumer Locker (L) in such way that the keypad 10-13 will be accessible to consumer locker owners (O) andauthorized users (U).

As already stated, the controller 10-2 is connected to an administratorswitch board 10-18 thru one or more cables 10-10. The administratorswitch board generally will be accessible only to consumer locker owners(O) and will have switches 10-19 and 10-20 and an indicator 10-21 forthe consumer locker owners (O) to unlock and lock the Consumer Locker(L). If the indicator 10-17 lights up for example, in green color, upona request by pressing the switch 10-19 to unlock or by pressing theswitch 10-20 to lock, then the request is valid, otherwise it is not. Ifthe request is valid then the electric lock 10-12 will be locked orunlocked as per the request. The administrator switch board 10-18 willalso have 2 holes 10-M and 10-N that can be used to mount on theConsumer Locker (L) in such way that the administrator switch board10-18 will be accessible only to consumer locker owners (O).

In order to facilitate for consumer locker owners (O), authorized users(U), delivery drones (D) and driver-driven and driver-less trucks (T) tounlock and lock Consumer Locker door without entering a code thru thekey buttons 10-14 in the key pad 10-13 a bar code and/or a QR code 10-24can be displayed near the Consumer Locker door to be unlocked or lockedand/or near the unlock 10-15 and lock 10-16 switches and is accessibleto the consumer locker owners (O), authorized users (U), delivery drones(D) and driver-driven and driver-less trucks (T).

In addition to electric locks garage doors can also be used. When agarage door is used the controller, board can be installed inside oroutside of the garage using 4 holes 10-A, 10-B, 10-C and 10-D to attachto a wall. The 4 holes 10-I, 10-J, 10-K and 10-L of the key pad 10-13can be used to mount the key pad 10-13 to the exterior wall of thegarage in such way that the key pad 10-13 will be accessible to consumerlocker owners (O) and authorized users (U). The 2 holes 10-M and 10-N ofthe administrator switch board 10-18 can be used to mount theadministrator switch board 10-18 to the interior wall of the garage insuch way that the administrator switch board 10-18 will be accessible toconsumer locker owners (O) only. The controller 10-2 can be connected toa garage door opener 10-25 through a cable 10-8. The 4 holes 10-Q, 10-R,10-S and 10-T of the garage door opener 10-25 can be used to mount thegarage door opener to the ceiling of the garage. The garage door openerwill be powered by its own power supply 10-26. The controller 10-2 wouldcontrol the opening and closing of the garage door in the same way itcontrols the locking and unlocking of the electric locks.

All the components namely controller, electric lock, key pad andadministrative key board can be pre-assembled together in a single pieceor in any combination by the networked lock manufacturer. It is beyondthe scope of this invention on how these components are manufacturedand/or assembled. The information provided herein is only to illustratehow any networked lock can be used in the present invention.

Now referring to standalone lock in FIG. 10, the standalone lock broadlyconsists of built-in controller, electric lock, keypad and switches.Unlike the controller in networked lock, the standalone lock 10-27 doesnot have a wi-fi connector and cannot be connected to a computer. Thestandalone lock 10-27 can store a limited number of one-time code aswell as permanent codes to unlock and lock the standalone locks. Justlike networked lock the standalone lock has its own controller 10-28,key buttons 10-29, unlock button 10-30, lock button 10-31, LED indicator10-32 and a handle 10-33. The 4 holes 10-W, 10-X, 10-Y and 10-Z providedin the standalone lock can be used to mount the standalone lock.

The consumer locker owners (O) or authorized users (U) can enter thecode through the key button 10-29, push unlock button 10-30 and thenturn the handle 10-33 to unlock or enter the code through key button10-29 and push lock button 10-31 to lock. Upon pressing the unlockbutton 10-30 or lock button 10-31, the LED indicator 10-32 would lightup in green or red to indicate the response. The standalone lock canalso use Z-wave connector 10-34 to accept requests from home automationservers and systems. The standalone lock will engage with the lockcatcher 10-35 to lock the Locker. So, if the lock unit 10-28 is mountedto the locker then the lock catcher 10-35 will be mounted to the door ofthe locker and vice versa. The 2 holes 10-U and 10-V provided in thelock catcher can be used to mount the lock catcher.

All the components namely controller, key pad and switches can bepre-assembled together in a single piece or in any combination by thestandalone lock manufacturer. If is beyond the scope of this inventionon how these components are manufactured and/or assembled. Theinformation provider herein is only to illustrate how any standalonelock can be used in the present invention. The Z-wave connector 10-4used by Networked locks and 10-34 used by Standalone locks are optionaland not required and can be used to connect with any home automationservers and systems. Devices such as Networked locks and Standalonelocks connected with home automation servers and systems can respond tocommands received through the home automation servers and systems.

As particularly shown in FIG. 11, the present invention generallycomprises the selection of locations within secured private area ofconsumer locker owners (O) and type of Consumer Lockers (L) that wouldprovide Protected Consumer In-Door Goods Services. The choice forlocations would depend on the availability of temporarily andpermanently secured barrier between the exterior and interior of securedprivate area within the boundaries of locker owners' (O) property.

In a Single/Multi Family In-Door Consumer Lockers 11-1, the example fortemporarily secured barrier between the exterior and the interior ofsecured private area would be vertical sliding or horizontal sliding orhanging window with one or more latches where the exterior being thearea available for Protected Consumer In-Door Goods Services providersand interior being the area available for Protected Consumer In-DoorGoods Services recipients. A locker with a single door in the front andhollow opening in the back with any temporarily secured barrier can beused for Protected Consumer In-Door Goods Services. One such temporarybarrier as shown in FIG. 11 is a vertical sliding window 11-3 and onesuch locker is a locker with a single door and opening in the back11-10. The window 11-2 above the sliding window 11-3 may be fixed inplace. The vertical sliding window 11-3 can be moved up and down and thelatches 11-4 and 11-5 when latched will hold the sliding window 11-3 inthe bottom position secured and cannot be moved up or down from interioror from exterior. The optional sensors 11-6 and 11-7 would be part ofprotected area monitoring system so that when the monitoring system isarmed and if the vertical sliding window 11-3 is moved or broken into,the monitoring system would go off. The sliding window can be only inthe down position 11-8 when the sliding window is locked with thelatches 11-4 and 11-5. The sliding window 11-3 can be locked with thelatches 11-4 and 11-5 only when the sliding window 11-3 is in the bottomposition. The sliding window can be in the top position 11-9 when onlythe sliding window is not locked with the latches 11-4 and 11-5. Theoptional stand 11-11 may be used to post instructions for the authorizedusers (U) to open the lock would be posted above the front door of thelock. The instructions would be on how to use a mobile app or how to geta code from the tracking number to open the door. It may also includedirections on which locker to be, used based on the size and type ofgoods to be delivered or to be picked up. Instead of using the optionalstand 11-11 the authorized owners (O) may also post the instructions onthe front door itself.

The example for permanent opening between the exterior and the interiorof secured private area would be an opening in the wall between theexterior and the interior where the exterior being the area availablefor Protected Consumer In-Door Goods Services providers and interiorbeing the area available for Protected Consumer In-Door Goods Servicesrecipients. A locker with a double door with any permanent opening canbe used for Protected Consumer In-Door Goods Services where the frontdoor of the locker would be accessible to the exterior and the back doorof the locker would be accessible to the interior and when the back doorfacing the interior is locked the interior will be secured. One suchpermanent opening is a hollow wall opening between exterior and theinterior is shown as 11-12 and one such locker with double door is shownas 11-13. Sensors 11-14 and 11-15 that can be monitored by private areamonitoring system, if any, can also be installed in the back door of thelocker. The optional stand 11-16 may be used to post instructions forthe authorized users (U) to open the lock would be posted above thefront door of the lock. The instructions would be on how to use a mobileapp or how to get a code from the tracking number to open the door. Itmay also include directions on which locker to be used based on the sizeand type of goods to be delivered or to be picked up. Instead of usingthe optional stand 11-16 the authorized owners (O) may also post theinstructions on the front door itself.

The example of Common Area shown as 11-17 is in between the exterior andinterior of secured Private Area with a connecting outer door 11-18 anda connecting inner door 11-19. The common area outer door 11-18 can beused by authorized users (U) to leave deliveries inside the Common Area11-17 or to pick up packages for shipping from the Common Area 11-17.The common area inner door 11-19 can be used by consumer locker owners(O) to pick up deliveries from the Common Area 11-17 or to leavepackages for shipping inside the Common Area 11-17. The authorized userswill not have permission unlock inner door 11-19.

The example of Common Area which is a garage shown as 11-20 is inbetween the exterior and interior of secured Private Area with aconnecting outer garage door 11-21 and a connecting inner door 11-23.The common area outer garage door 11-21 can be used by authorized users(U) to leave deliveries inside the Common Area 11-20 or to pick uppackages for shipping from the Common Area 11-20. The common area innerdoor 11-23 can be used by consumer locker owners (O) to pick updeliveries from the Common Area 11-20 or to leave packages for shippinginside the Common Area 11-20. The outer garage door 11-21 is accessibleto authorized users (U). The garage door 11-21 can be opened and closedby the garage door opener 11-22 which is controlled by a Networked orStandalone Lock. The authorized users will not have permission unlockinner door 11-23.

The example of Common Area which is in between outer and inner fencesshown as 11-24 is also in between the exterior and interior of securedPrivate Area with a connecting outer fence gate 11-25 and a connectinginner door 11-26. The common area outer fence gate 11-25 can be used byauthorized users (U) to leave deliveries inside the Common Area 11-24 orto pick up packages for shipping from the Common Area 11-24. The commonarea inner door 11-26 can be used by consumer locker owners (O) to pickup deliveries from the Common Area 11-24 or to leave packages forshipping inside the Common Area 11-24. The outer fence gate 11-25 isaccessible to authorized users (U). The authorized users will not havepermission unlock connecting door 11-26.

The example of Curbside Consumer Locker shown as 11-27 is placed outsidePrivate Area, but within the boundaries of locker owners' property. TheCurbside Consumer Locker 11-27 is accessible to authorized users (U) formanual transfer of goods and Delivery Trucks (T) for automatic transfergoods into Curbside Consumer Lockers and from Curbside Consumer Lockers.

The example of Drone Consumer Locker shown as 11-28 is placed outsidePrivate Area, but within the boundaries of locker owners' property. TheDrone Consumer Locker 11-28 is accessible to Drones. The Drone ConsumerLocker can also be used as indoor locker by installing the DroneConsumer Locker in temporarily secured barriers like sliding windows orby installing the Drone Consumer Locker in permanently secured barrierslike openings in walls.

As particularly shown in FIG. 12, the present invention generallycomprises the installation of Single Door with hollow back side ConsumerLockers (L) in temporarily secured barriers between the exterior andinterior of secured private area within the boundaries of consumerlocker owners (O) property that would provide Protected Consumer In-DoorGoods Services.

In an installation of Single Door with hollow back side Consumer Lockers12-1, the example for temporarily secured barrier between the exteriorand the interior of secured private area would be vertical sliding orhorizontal sliding or hanging window. As shown in FIG. 12, the SingleDoor with hollow back side Consumer Lockers (L) would consist of a frontside outer frame 12-2, one or more compartments with flip doors 12-3, afront door 12-4, a handle 12-5 attached to the front door 12-4, a keypad 12-6, an unlock button 12-7, an LED indicator 12-8, a QR Codedisplay 12-9, optional display of locker number and instructions on howto use a mobile app or how to get a code from the tracking number toopen the door and directions for other lockers 12-10, a back side outerframe 12-11, a back side of one or more open compartments 12-12, ahollow back 12-13, an authorized owner (O) lock button 12-14, anauthorized owner (O) LED indicator 12-15, Consumer Locker (L) top side12-16, Consumer Locker bottom side 12-17, left and right side ofConsumer Locker (L). The temporarily secured barrier consists of a topfixed window 12-18, handles 12-19 to lift the bottom window 12-20 aswell as to lock into latches so that the bottom window 12-20 cannot belifted, bottom physical structure 12-21 and top physical structure 12-22holding the temporarily secured barrier.

The compartments 12-3 on the front side of the locker can be used toreceive less valuable deliveries. The delivery person simply lifts thedoor of a compartment and leaves the deliveries inside of a compartment.The authorized owner can pick up the delivered packages from thecompartments 12-12 on the back side.

Authorized users (U) will have access only to the front door because thefront door is facing the exterior of the Private Area and authorizedusers (U) have access only to exterior of Private Area. Authorized users(U) can use the Consumer Locker (L) to deliver or pickup packages.Authorized users (U) can simply scan a QR Code or enter a code in thekeypad to open the Consumer Locker (L) from the front side which will befacing the exterior of the secured Private Area. Once the ConsumerLocker (L) is opened, the authorized users (U) can pick up the packagesfor shipping from inside the Consumer Locker (L) or leave deliveries tobe made inside the Consumer Locker (L). Consumer Locker owners (O) canpick up the packages that are delivered from the Consumer Lockers and/orleave packages for shipping inside the Consumer Lockers (L). ConsumerLocker owners (O) will access the Consumer Lockers (L) from interior ofthe secured Private Area.

As particularly shown in FIG. 13, the present invention generallycomprises the installation of Double Door Consumer Lockers (L) havingone door at the front and another door at the back in permanentlysecured barriers between the exterior and interior of secured privatearea within the boundaries of consumer locker owners (O) property thatwould provide Protected Consumer In-Door Goods Services.

In an installation of Double Door Consumer Lockers 13-1 one door at thefront and another door at the back, the example for permanently securedbarrier between the exterior and the interior of secured Private Areawould be a hollow inside the walls separating the interior from theexterior of the secured Private Area. As shown in FIG. 13, the DoubleDoor Consumer Lockers (L) would consist of a front side outer frame13-2, one or more compartments with flip doors 13-3, a front door 13-4,a handle 13-5 attached to the front door 13-4, a key pad 13-6, an unlockbutton 13-7, an LED indicator 13-8, a QR Code display 13-9, optionalinstructions on how to use a mobile app or how to get a code from thetracking number to open the door and directions for other lockers 13-10,a back side outer frame 13-11, a back side of one or more opencompartments 13-12, a back door 13-13, a handle 13-14 attached to theback door 13-13, a key pad 13-15 for the back door 13-13, an unlockbutton 13-16 for the back door 13-13, an LED indicator 13-17 for theback door 13-13, a lock button 13-18 for the back door 13-13 an unlockbutton 13-19 for the front door 13-4, an LED indicator 13-20, a lockbutton 13-21 for the front door 13-4, a QR Code display 13-22 for theback door 13-13, a top side 13-23, a bottom side 13-24, bottom physicalstructure 13-25 and top physical structure 13-26 holding the permanentlysecured barrier.

Authorized users (U) will have access only to the front door because thefront door is facing the exterior of the Private Area and authorizedusers (U) have access only to exterior of Private Area. Authorized users(U) can use the Consumer Locker (L) to deliver or pickup packages.Authorized users (U) can simply scan a QR Code 13-9 or enter a code inthe keypad 13-6 to open the Consumer Locker (L) from the front sidewhich will be facing the exterior of the secured Private Area. Once theConsumer Locker (L) is opened, the authorized users (U) can pick up thepackages for shipping from inside the Consumer Locker (L) or leavedeliveries that are to be made inside the Consumer Locker (L). ConsumerLocker owners (O) can pick up the packages that are delivered from theConsumer Lockers and/or leave packages for shipping inside the ConsumerLockers (L). Consumer Locker owners (O) will access the Consumer Lockers(L) from interior of the secured Private Area. Consumer Locker owners(O) can simply scan a QR Code 13-21 or enter a code in the keypad 13-15and press unlock button 13-16 to open the Consumer Locker (L) from theback side which will be facing the interior of the secured Private Area.Consumer Locker owners (O) can simply press lock button 13-18 to lockthe back door of the Consumer Locker (L) where the back door will befacing the interior of the secured Private Area. Consumer Locker owners(O) can also simply press unlock button 13-19 or lock button 13-20 tolock or unlock the front door of the Consumer Locker (L) respectively.

As particularly shown in FIG. 14, the present invention generallycomprises the installation of Single Door Consumer Lockers (L) havingthe single door at the front with a closed back side is securely placedoutside of secured private area within the boundaries of consumer lockerowners (O) property that would provide Protected Consumer Out-Door GoodsServices. As previously mentioned electronic doors of Consumer Lockers(L) can have Networked Lock or Standalone Lock. As an example, theSingle Door Consumer Locker (L) with the back side closed as shown inFIG. 14 is using a Standalone Lock.

In an installation of Single Door Consumer Lockers 14-1 with a closedback side, the example for a Consumer Locker (L) placed outside ofsecured Private Area and outside of secured Common Area but placedwithin boundaries of the boundaries of Private Property where legalowners of the Private Property and the owners of the Consumer Locker areone and the same.

As shown in FIG. 14, the Single Door Consumer Lockers (L) with a closedback side would consist of a front side outer frame 14-2, one or morecompartments with flip doors 14-3, a front door 14-4, a key pad 14-5, anunlock button 14-6, a lock button 14-7, a handle 14-8 attached to thefront door 14-4, a QR Code display 14-9, optional instructions to get acode from the tracking number to open the door and directions for otherlockers 14-10, back side outer frame 14-11, closed back side 14-12, topside 14-13 and bottom side 14-14. The authorized users (U) would enter acode and press unlock button 14-6 to unlock the front door and pickuppackages for shipping from inside the Consumer Locker (L) and/or leavedeliveries inside the Consumer Locker (L). The consumer locker owners(O) would enter a code and press unlock button 14-6 to unlock the frontdoor and pickup goods delivered inside the Consumer Locker and leavepackages for shipping from inside the Consumer Locker (L). Theauthorized users (U) and consumer locker owners (O) can use a mobile appto scan the displayed QR Code to get a previously stored authorizationcode.

As particularly shown in FIG. 15, the present invention that wouldprovide Protected Consumer In-Door Goods Services, generally comprisesthe installation of Single Door Consumer Lockers (L) with a hollow backside in temporarily secured barriers between the exterior and interiorof secured Private Area within the boundaries of consumer locker owners(O) property and the installation of Double Door Consumer Lockers (L) inpermanently secured barriers between the exterior and interior ofsecured Private Area within the boundaries of consumer locker owners (O)property using an intermediary frame.

As shown in FIG. 15, the dimension of the intermediary frame 15-1 thatcould be used to install Consumer Lockers (L) in temporarily orpermanently secured barriers would be same as the dimension of thetemporarily or permanently secured barriers and would be larger or equalto the dimension of the Consumer Lockers (L) to be installed. Theintermediary frame 15-3 would be attached to the inner frame 15-2 of thetemporarily or permanently secured barriers and the inner frame will beattached to the building structure of 15-4 and 15-5. The inner frame15-2 may be just a hollow frame and the intermediary frame will have ahole to fit the Consumer Locker 15-8 where the Consumer Locker 15-8would be attached to the intermediary frame 15-3. The inner frame 15-2and the intermediary frame 15-3 will be attached thru rivets or bolt15-6 and nuts 15-7. The front side 15-9 of the Consumer Locker 15-8 willbe facing the exterior and the back side 15-10 of the Consumer Locker15-8 will be facing the interior. The thickness of the inner frame andthe intermediary frame would depend on the weight of the package to beput inside the Consumer Locker 15-8. The holes 15-11 will be used tojoin the intermediary frame 15-3 to the inner frame 15-2 and the holes15-12 will be used to join the locker frame 15-13 to intermediary frame15-3.

Referring now then to FIGS. 16 through 18 in particular, the presentinvention as operative upon the described Consumer Locker Adaption forProtected Consumer In-Door Goods Services, for Protected ConsumerOut-Door Goods Services and for Protected Consumer Curbside GoodsServices system 1 is shown to generally comprise various series ofinteractions between Consumer Locker Owners (O) and Locks that can beused by authorized users (U) to provide Protected Consumer In-Door GoodsServices through protected Common Areas such as rooms, garages andfenced in areas.

As particularly shown in FIG. 16, the present invention that wouldprovide Protected Consumer In-Door Goods Services generally includes theinstallation of Locks on common area outer fence gates which are gatesattached to outer fences that are in between exterior and interior ofsecured common areas which are surrounded by outer fence, inner fenceand secured Private Area.

As shown in FIG. 16, when a Networked or Standalone Lock is used tosecure a common area surrounded by outer fence 16-3 which may beconnected to secured Private Area 16-2 through a private door and theouter fence 16-3 will have a fence gate 16-4, to which a QR Code display16-5, a key pad 16-6, an unlock button 16-7, a LED indicator 16-8, ahandle 16-9 and optional instructions on how to use a mobile app or howto get a code from the tracking number to open the door and directionsfor other lockers 16-10 will be attached. With a Networked Lock, theconsumer locker owners (O) and/or authorized users (U) would scan the QRCode 16-5 using their mobile device and press the unlock button 16-7 toopen the common area outer fence gate 16-3. With a Standalone Lock, theconsumer locker owners (O) and/or authorized users (U) would scan the QRCode 16-5 using their mobile device to get a one-time authorizationcode. The consumer locker owners (O) and/or authorized users (U) wouldenter a code in the key pad 16-6 and press the unlock button 16-7 toopen the common area outer fence gate 16-3. Upon pressing the unlockbutton 16-7, the LED indicator 16-8 would light up in green or red toindicate the response

As particularly shown in FIG. 17, the present invention that wouldprovide Protected Consumer In-Door Goods Services generally includes theinstallation of Locks on common area outer doors which are as alreadydefined doors that are common between outside of Secured Area and insideof Common Area and facing outside of Secured Area.

As shown in FIG. 17, the common area outer door 17-2 will be accessibleto consumer locker owners (O) and to authorized users (U). When aNetworked or Standalone Lock is used to secure common area outer door17-2, the common area outer door 17-2 will have a QR Code display 17-3,a key pad 17-4, an unlock button 17-5, LED indicator 17-6, a handle 17-7and optional instructions on how to use a mobile app or how to get acode from the tracking number to open the door and directions for otherlockers 17-8. With a Networked Lock, the consumer locker owners (O)and/or authorized users (U) would scan the QR Code 17-3 using theirmobile device and press the unlock button 17-5 to open the common areaouter door 17-2. With a Standalone Lock, the consumer locker owners (O)and/or authorized users (U) would scan the QR Code 16-5 using theirmobile device to get an authorization code and enter the code in the keypad 17-4 and press the unlock button 17-5 to open the common area outerdoor 17-2. Upon pressing the unlock button 17-5, the LED indicator 17-6would light up in green or red to indicate the response.

As particularly shown in FIG. 18, the present invention that wouldprovide Protected Consumer In-Door Goods Services generally includes theinstallation of Locks on common area garage doors which are garage doorsthat are common between outside of Secured Area and inside of CommonGarage Area and facing outside of Secured Area.

As shown in FIG. 18, the common area garage door 18-8 will be accessibleto consumer locker owners (O) and to authorized users (U). When aNetworked or Standalone Lock is used to secure common area garage door18-8, the structure supporting the common area garage door 18-8 willhave a QR Code display 18-3, a key pad 18-2, an unlock button 18-4, LEDindicator 18-5 and optional instructions on how to use a mobile app orhow to get a code from the tracking number to open the door anddirections for other lockers 18-7. With a Networked Lock, the consumerlocker owners (O) and/or authorized users (U) would scan the QR Code18-3 using their mobile device and press the unlock button 18-4 to openthe common area garage door 18-8. With a Standalone Lock, the consumerlocker owners (O) and/or authorized users (U) would scan the QR Code18-3 using their mobile device and get a one-time authorization code andenter the code in the key pad 18-2 and press the unlock button 18-4 toopen the common area garage door 18-8. Upon pressing the unlock button18-4, the LED indicator 18-5 would light up in green or red to indicatethe response.

Referring now then to FIGS. 19 through 26 in particular, the ConsumerLocker Adaption method (82) of the present invention as operative uponthe described Consumer Locker Adaption for Protected Consumer In-DoorGoods Services, for Protected Consumer Out-Door Goods Services and forProtected Consumer Curbside Goods Services system 1 is shown togenerally comprise various series of procedures in registering ConsumerLocker owners (O) by locker owners, in registering Merchants (M) bymerchants, in registering Goods Carriers (G) by goods carriers, inregistering lockers (L) by consumer locker owners (O), inadding/updating authcode by consumer locker owners (O), in registeringmobile phone numbers and mobile device identifiers by consumer lockerowners (O), in adding/updating authcodes through an API by merchants (M)and/or goods carriers (G), in adding/updating advance authenticationsthrough an API by merchants (M) and/or goods carriers (G).

In order, to better describe these critical aspects of the presentinvention, however, reference is now made to the deployment diagram ofFIG. 44, wherein there is shown the various elements of an exemplaryhardware and software based implementation of a locker adaption system 1constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention.Before continuing, however, it is noted that while the implementationdepicted in FIG. 44 is exemplary of the locker adaption system 1 of thepresent invention, it is in no manner meant to be all encompassing orotherwise limiting of the wide range of implementations as are possible.In addition, it is noted that while some elements are in FIG. 44 shownto comprise hardware and others software, virtually any element could beimplemented in either hardware or software or any combination thereof.Still further, it is noted that while for clarity of discussion varioushardware elements are segregated between different machines and varioussoftware elements are segregated into various components, no suchsegregation should be deemed as required unless specifically statedherein and further or differing division into various particularcomponents, modules, classes, objects or the like should be taken aswithin the scope of the present invention as limited only by the claimsappended hereto. Finally, to the extent that any structural (includingsoftware) element is stated as being adapted to perform some function,such language is to be taken as a positive structural limitation imposedupon the referenced element whereby the element is required to beactually adapted, programmed, configured or otherwise provided with theactual capability for performing the specified function. In no caseshall such language be taken as merely a statement of intended use orthe like, but to the contrary such language shall be in every case takento read on all structures of the referenced element that are in anymanner actually in the present tense configured to perform the specifiedfunction (as opposed to being merely capable of adaption for the conductof the specified function).

Turning then to FIG. 44, a service provider P (such as, for example, maycomprise a specialized provider of the locker adaption services of thepresent invention; a provider of other products or services having needof locker adaption services, such as, for example, any business,shipping companies, banks, airport, government buildings or the like) isshown for purposes of this exemplary discussion to have associatedtherewith one or more application servers 44-1 or database servers 44-6upon which may be hosted software functionality necessary to operationwithin the framework of the present invention. In particular, anapplication server 44-1 would accept data through mobile app gateway44-19, controller gateway 44-18, thru API Gateway 44-17 as well as thruuser interface 44-16. Input from microcontrollers in Networked Locks(controller requests) and responses (request responses) from serviceproviders (P) would be communicated thru controller gateway 44-18,merchants' (M) and goods carriers' (G) server requests (external systemrequests) and responses (request responses) from service providers (P)would be communicated through API gateway 44-17, whereas locker owners'(O), merchants' (M) and goods carriers' (G) inputs and responses wouldbe communicated thru user interface 44-16. In particular, an applicationserver 44-1 may host a request handler software component 44-2 adaptedto handle mobile app requests communicated through mobile app gateway44-19, controller requests communicated through controller gateway 44-18and to handle external system requests communicated through API gateway44-17 and all other inputs through user interface 44-16 as well as toproduce responses for controller requests, external system requests andfor other inputs as may be necessary in the operation of the presentinvention.

Additionally, the application server 44-1 may host a controller agent44-3 adapted to handle or otherwise control all aspects of thecontroller request within the realm of responsibility of the serviceprovider (P), including receiving controller requests, storing and/orretrieving data pertinent to the processing of such requests anddirecting the validation of controller requests submitted for controllerand respond based upon the results of such validations.

In order to improve efficiency, the authorizing agent component 44-3 maycomprise one or more further specialized components such as, forexample, a validation tool 44-4 adapted to conduct the specialized taskof comparing received authorization code within the controller requestwith one of the saved authorization code for the device identified bydevice identifier within the controller request or confirming theexistence of pre-approved authentication for the device identified bydevice identifier within the controller request.

Still further, the application server 44-1 may also host anadministration tool 44-5 through which various aspects of the setup,maintenance and operation of the hardware and software systems of theservice provider (P) may be managed.

In order, to efficiently manage and handle the large quantity of datathat may typically be stored in connection with an implementation of thepresent invention, one or more dedicated database servers 44-6 hostingdatabase management systems 44-7 are generally desired. As shown in FIG.44, a typical database management system 44-7 may include a locker ownerdatabase 44-8 for storing a wide variety of generally locker ownercentric data as may be required in the operation of the presentinvention, a merchant database 44-9 for storing a wide variety ofgenerally merchant centric data as may be required in the operation ofthe present invention, a goods carrier database 44-10 for storing a widevariety of generally goods carrier centric data as may be required inthe operation of the present invention, a locker database 44-11 forstoring a wide variety of generally locker centric data generally as maybe required in the operation of the present invention, an authorizationcode database 44-12 for storing a wide variety of generallyauthorization code centric data generally associated with the conduct ofindividual transactions in the operation of the present invention, anauthentication database 44-13 for storing a wide variety of generallyauthentication centric data generally associated with the conduct ofindividual transactions in the operation of the present invention, amobile device database 44-14 for storing a wide variety of generallymobile device centric data as may be required in the operation of thepresent invention and a store pickup database 44-15 for storing a widevariety of generally store pickup centric data as may be required in theoperation of the present invention.

Although those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize thatvirtually unlimited alternatives are possible, FIG. 27 shows a veryhigh-level but generally representative schema 27-1 for an ownerdatabase 44-8, FIG. 28 shows a very high-level but also generallyrepresentative schema 28-1 for a merchant database 44-9, FIG. 29 shows avery high-level but also generally representative schema 29-1 for agoods carrier database 44-10, FIG. 30 shows a very high-level but alsogenerally representative schema 30-1 for a locker database 44-11, FIG.31 shows a very high-level but also generally representative schema 31-1for an authorization code database 44-12, FIG. 32 shows a veryhigh-level but also generally representative schema 32-1 for anauthentication database 44-13 and FIG. 33 shows a very high-level butalso generally representative schema 33-1 for a mobile device database44-14 each of which will be described in greater detail further hereinin connection with an exemplary description of the conduct of a typicaltransaction.

Additionally, a preferably controller gateway 44-18 is provided for usein receiving controller requests and issuing authorization responses. Aswill be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art, such acontroller gateway 44-18 may be utilized to receive controller requestsfrom lockers and doors as shown in FIGS. 15 thru 18 and transmitgenerated responses to lock or unlock or keep in the same position therequested door. The controller requests and responses may be in any of aplurality of message formats such as, and not limited to, a comma orspecial character delimited message, an XML formatted message, a JASONformatted message, over any of a plurality of languages such as and notlimited to, HTML (HTTP or HTTPS or SOAP), JavaScript, (C) programs, C++programs, .NET and based on the Application Programming Interfaces (API)specification provided by the service provider (P).

Additionally, a preferably mobile app gateway 44-19 is provided for usein receiving mobile app requests and issuing responses. As will beappreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art, such a mobile appgateway 44-19 may be utilized to receive mobile requests from mobiledevices as shown in FIG. 41 and transmit generated responses back tomobile devices.

Still further, the administration tool 44-5 also executes batch jobsscheduled to run frequently to update the status of authcode andauthentication. The status of authcode will be updated as ‘E’ (Expired),if the current date and time is past the existing expiration date andtime in authcode database 44-12 for each individual active authcode asper the very high-level but also generally representative schema 31-1 asshown in FIG. 31. The status of authentication will be updated as ‘E’(Expired), if the current date and time is past the existing expirationdate and time in authentication database 44-13 for each individualactive authentication as per the very high-level but also generallyrepresentative schema 32-1 as shown in FIG. 32.

The consumer locker owners and the mobile devices authorized by theconsumer locker owners as joint owners would be considered asadministrators whereas all other users are considered asnon-administrators. The service provider (P) can accept a controllerrequest from any valid networked controller supported by the serviceprovider (P) where the accepted controller request would always includea serial number of the controller, a password, an authorization codewhere the authorization code is a code entered into a key pad attachedto the controller and captured by the controller from the key pad or theauthorization code would be blank when no code is entered into the keypad and there is no data to capture for the controller and a requesttype where the request type would depend on the button being activatedto initiate the controller request.

For example, the request type could be ‘N’ if the request has originatedfrom key pad UNLOCK button or ‘O’ if the request has originated from keypad LOCK button or ‘U’, if the request has originated from administratorUNLOCK button or ‘L’ if the request has originated from administratorLOCK button.

The administrator UNLOCK and/or the administrator LOCK button may not beavailable to non-administrators. The controller would send thecontroller request upon a non-administrator or an administrator UNLOCKor LOCK button is pressed to the service provider (P) as shown in FIGS.10 thru 18. Upon receiving a request from the controller, the serviceprovider (P) would process the request as explained in ControllerGateway section and return a response. If the controller receives anapproval response, then the controller would Unlock or Lock the lockattached to the controller and would indicate the approval responsethrough the LED indicator attached to the controller by blinking the LEDindicator in green color. If the controller receives a decline response,then the controller would indicate the decline response through the LEDindicator attached to the controller by blinking the LED indicator inred color.

Additionally, a preferably an API gateway 44-17 is provided for use inreceiving API requests and responding with response messages as well asfor use in sending API requests and receiving response messages. Theservice provider (P) issues specification for merchants (M) and forgoods carriers (G) to use the service. Although the usage of such APImay take a wide variety of forms and for a wide variety of interfacesdepending upon the circumstances of any particular implementation, atypical API usage could be authcode request API from merchants (M)and/or goods carriers (G) to service provider where the request and theresponse are shown in FIGS. 42-A and 42-R, authentication request APIfrom merchants (M) and/or goods carriers (G) to service provider wherethe request and the response are shown in FIGS. 43-A and 43-R andpackage pickup API from service provider (P) to goods carriers (G).

Although the user interface 44-16 may take a wide variety of formsdepending upon the circumstances of any particular implementation, atypical user interface may be implemented as a web interface 45-1 asshown in FIG. 45, wherein there may be provided a page processor 45-4hosted on an appropriate execution environment 45-3 installed on adedicated web server 45-2 in an internet communication 45-5 with a userdevice 45-6, such as, for example, a personal computer, smart phone orthe like, and on which is installed and/or hosted a web browser 45-8running in a provided execution environment 45-7. In any case, as willbe appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art, the provision of auser interface 44-16, which of course should be secured, enables thevarious users, owners (O), merchants (M) and goods carriers (G), tomaintain and/or otherwise manage the data stored in the owner database44-8, merchant database 44-9, goods carrier database 44-10, lockerdatabase 44-11, authorization code database 44-12, authenticationdatabase 44-13 and mobile device database 44-14 as may be appropriate aswell as to generally manage and maintain the implemented locker adaptionsystem 1.

Although those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize thatvirtually unlimited alternatives are possible, a very high-level butgenerally representative drawing 47-1 of a generic Delivery/Pickup Droneand a generic Consumer Locker that can be used with the genericDelivery/Pickup Drone is shown in FIG. 47. The locker capable ofaccepting deliveries from drones and/or capable of storing pickups fordrones to pick up packages is generally referred as drone lockers 47-2as shown in FIG. 47. The drone lockers 47-2 can also be dummy lockerswhere the front door or the drone lockers 47-2 may not be controlled bya lock.

Instead of installing the front door on the front side of the locker,the front door 47-3 is installed on the top side of the locker as shownin FIG. 47 where the front door 47-3 is attached to the front side lockbased on the representative schema 30-1 as shown in FIG. 30 and thefront door 47-3 would be used by the drone (D) to leave packages thathave to be delivered and/or to pick up that have to be picked up. Also,the front door will have a pivot point 47-3 around which the longerportion 47-4 and shorter portion 47-5 of the front door would move. Theamount of movement caused on the longer portion 47-4 by the movement onthe shorter side 47-5 would depend on the position of the pivot thatseparate the front door into longer portion 47-4 and shorter portion47-5. In any event, any movement on shorter portion 47-5 would causesignificantly more movement on the longer portion 47-4.

Since the drone lockers can be installed in secured areas such as withina fenced area, the front side of the locker need not have a lock. If alock has to be installed on the front door then, the lock on the frontdoor can be installed on either side of the pivot. Whether the lock isinstalled on the longer portion 47-4 or shorter portion 47-5, when thelock is locked both longer 47-4 and shorter 47-5 portions cannot beopened. Similarly, whether the lock is installed on the longer portion47-4 or shorter portion 47-5, when the lock is unlocked and one portionis opened the other portion will also be opened. Similarly, when a lockis not installed and if one portion is opened the other portion willalso be opened. Only the longer portion 47-4 will be used to leavepackages or to pick up packages. Also, only shorter portion 47-5 will beused to open the longer portion 47-4. If a lock is installed then thenon-administrator UNLOCK switch shown as 47-6 in FIG. 47 will beinstalled on the shorter portion 47-5 and when pressure is appliedanywhere on the non-administrator UNLOCK switch the controller wouldcommunicate with the service provider (P) and the controller wouldunlock the front lock which is connected to front door where the frontdoor is installed on the top side of the locker, if the controllerreceives a successful response. If a lock is not installed, then thenon-administrator UNLOCK switch shown as 47-6 in FIG. 47 will not beinstalled and when pressure is applied anywhere on the shorter portion47-5 the front door installed on the top side of the locker will beopened.

Any indoor locker with a single or double door and any outdoor lockercan be easily converted into drone locker. If an indoor locker isconverted into drone locker then the locker owner (O) can retrieve thedelivered package or place any package for shipment from inside of theirprivate area. If an outdoor locker is converted into drone locker thenthe locker owner (O) can retrieve the delivered package or place anypackage for shipment from outside of their private area but withinsecured area. To convert an indoor or outdoor locker into a dronelocker, the locker owner (O) simply place the front door on top of thelocker, modify the front door to include a pivot and place beacons ontop of the front door at 4 corners of the front door.

A double door outdoor locker with the back side door 47-22 is convertedinto a drone locker where the front side of the double door locker isshown as 47-4 and 47-5 with a pivot 47-3 is shown in FIG. 47. A singledoor indoor locker with the hollow back side 47-28 is converted into adrone locker where the front side of the single door locker with hollowback is shown as 47-4 and 47-5 with a pivot 47-3 is shown in FIG. 47. Adouble door indoor locker as shown in FIG. 13 can also be converted intoa drone locker. For the purpose of illustration, only single door indoorlocker is shown in FIG. 47. The sliding window 47-29 that protects thehollow back is shown in FIG. 47. When an indoor locker is used, a dronelanding platform 47-23 in a position exactly above the indoor locker, ahorizontal rotating drum with cable also known as winch 47-24, a packageholder 47-25 and a horizontal rotating drum with cable also known aswinch 47-27 are used to deliver or pickup package 47-26. Also, thebeacons 47-7, 47-8, 47-9 and 47-10 will be installed on four corners ofthe landing platform 47-23. The drone landing platform 47-23 is attachedto the roof 47-30. The double door outdoor locker with the back sidedoor 47-22 can be placed on the floor 47-31 as shown in FIG. 47. Thesingle indoor locker with the hollow back side 47-28 can be attached tothe window on the exterior side as shown in FIG. 47.

The drone would get the LockSerialNumber and exact GPS coordinates(LockerLatitude and LockerLongitude) of locker for each package to bedelivered or to be picked up from the goods carrier (G). The drone (D)would use the exact GPS coordinates of the locker along with a mappingsoftware such as Google Map to land and take off from the locker. Toassist the drone (D) further in landing and taking off from the locker,the locker may have one or more beacons installed on the locker and thedrone (D) may have one or more Bluetooth readers installed on the drone.Beacons are small Bluetooth radio transmitters that send out itsidentifiers as frequently as 10 times in a second. Bluetooth readers arereaders that can read the data transmitted by the beacons. The signalstrength of the data received by the Bluetooth readers would depend onthe strength of the data being transmitted by the beacons and theproximity of the beacons to the Bluetooth readers. As an example, thelocker 47-2 with beacons and the drone (D) 47-11 with Bluetooth readersare shown in FIG. 47. As shown in FIG. 47, the locker can have 4 beacons47-7, 47-8, 47-9 and 47-10 one on each corner of the front door of thelocker facing upward. The beacon 47-7 installed at the top left cornerof the front door of the locker would transmit the front side lockserial number of the locker plus a text of ‘TL’. The beacon 47-8installed at the top right corner of the front door of the locker wouldtransmit the front side lock serial number of the locker plus a text of‘TR’. The beacon 47-9 installed at the bottom right corner of the frontdoor of the locker would transmit the front side lock serial number ofthe locker plus a text of ‘BR’. The beacon 47-10 installed at the bottomleft corner of the front door of the locker would transmit the frontside lock serial number of the locker plus a text of ‘BL’. The dronecompatible to automatically deliver or pick up goods from the lockerswould be Bluetooth enabled and may have 4 Bluetooth readers 47-14,47-15, 47-16 and 47-17 one on each corner facing downward. Again, asshown in n FIG. 47, the Bluetooth reader 47-14 installed at the top leftcorner of the drone would try to locate the beacon that transmits thefront side lock serial number plus a text of ‘TL’. The Bluetooth 47-15reader installed at the top right corner of the drone would try tolocate the beacon that transmits the front side lock serial number plusa text of ‘TR’. The Bluetooth 47-16 reader installed at the bottom rightcorner of the drone would try to locate the beacon that transmits thefront side lock serial number plus a text of ‘BR’. The Bluetooth 47-17reader installed at the bottom left corner of the drone (D) would try tolocate the beacon that transmits the front side lock serial number plusa text of ‘BL’.

The drone (D) 47-11 has a payload area 47-12 where the packages to bedelivered and/or packages picked up for shipping are stored in anorderly manner so that the drone (D) 47-11 can identify each storedpackage.

The drone would use a retractable or fixed plunger 47-13 where theplunger 47-13 would consist of a plunger header 47-18, plunger spring47-19 and a plunger tip 47-20.

If a lock is not installed, then the non-administrator UNLOCK switchshown as 47-6 in FIG. 47 will not be installed.

When non-administrator UNLOCK switch is installed and when the drone (D)47-11 using the plunger 47-13 press on the non-administrator UNLOCKbutton 47-6, the shorter portion 47-5 would be pressed down by theplunger tip 47-20 thru the plunger spring 47-19 by the plunger head47-18, the controller would unlock the lock attached to the front sideof the locker and longer portion 47-4 would open upwards and the longerportion 47-14 would press the switch or activate sensor 47-21 to notifythe drone that the longer portion is completely opened and the drone canstart delivering the package or picking up the page, if the lockattached to the front side of the locker has been authenticated inadvance. When non-administrator UNLOCK switch is installed and when thedrone (D) 47-11 using the plunger 47-13 press on the non-administratorUNLOCK button 47-6, the shorter portion 47-5 would be pressed down bythe plunger tip 47-20 thru the plunger spring 47-19 by the plunger head47-18, the controller would not unlock the lock attached to the frontside of the locker and longer portion 47-4 would not open upwards, ifthe lock attached to the front side of the locker has not beenauthenticated in advance. When non-administrator UNLOCK switch isinstalled and when the lock attached to the front side of the locker isnot unlocked, the plunger spring 47-19 would compress and the plungertip 47-20 would not press hard enough on the shorter portion 47-5 toopen. When the plunger spring 47-19 is completely compressed and if theswitch or sensor 47-21 is not pressed or activated, then the drone wouldterminate the process of opening the longer portion 47-4 and the processof delivering goods and/or picking up goods.

When non-administrator UNLOCK switch is not installed and when the drone(D) 47-11 using the plunger 47-13 press on the short portion 47-5, theshorter portion 47-5 would be pressed down by the plunger tip 47-20 thruthe plunger spring 47-19 by the plunger head 47-18 and longer portion47-4 would open upwards and the longer portion 47-14 would press theswitch or activate sensor 47-21 to notify the drone that the longerportion is completely opened and the drone can start delivering thepackage or picking up the page.

If the owners of the drone locker wish to pick up delivered goods and/orwish to leave goods to be picked up directly from their private area,then the locker owner can use a drone locker physically attached totheir Private Area and install a drone landing platform exactly abovethe drone locker and the drone would land on the landing platform 47-23.The platform would be like an antenna attached to the roof. The beacons47-7, 47-8, 47-9 and 47-10 would be installed on the landing platform47-23. After the drone lands on the landing platform 47-23, the dronewould pick up any package to be picked up and/or would deliver anypackage to be delivered from the locker by lowering the package holder47-25 with the package to be delivered and/or raising the package holderwith the package to be picked up using the horizontal rotating drum withcable also known as winch 47-24 and lowering the plunger 47-13 using thehorizontal rotating drum with cable also known as winch 47-27.

When non-administrator UNLOCK switch is installed, the plunger 47-13would land on the non-administrator UNLOCK switch 47-6 which, because ofthe weight of the plunger 47-13, would be activated and the controllerwould send the non-administrator UNLOCK request to the service provider(P) and receive a response. When non-administrator UNLOCK switch isinstalled and if the response is successful, the longer portion 47-4 ofthe front door will open upwards and make a contact with the switch orsensor 47-21 to notify the drone that the longer portion is completelyopened, and the drone can start delivering the package or picking up thepackage. When non-administrator UNLOCK switch is installed and if theresponse is not successful the longer portion 47-4 of the front doorwill not open upwards and will not make a contact with the switch orsensor 47-21 and the delivery and/or pickup process will be terminated.

When non-administrator UNLOCK switch is not installed, the plunger 47-13would land on the shorter portion 47-5 of the front door and the longerportion 47-4 of the front door will open upwards and make a contact withthe switch or sensor 47-21 to notify the drone that the longer portionis completely opened, and the drone can start delivering the package orstart picking up the package.

In certain embodiments instead of using beacons and Bluetooth readers,any hardware and software combination can be used for drone lockers anddrones to coordinate their position with each other.

Although those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize thatvirtually unlimited alternatives are possible, a very high-level butgenerally representative drawing 48-1 of a generic Delivery/Pickup Truckand a generic Consumer Locker that can be used with the genericDelivery/Pickup Truck is shown in FIG. 48. The locker capable ofaccepting deliveries from trucks and/or capable of storing pick-ups fortrucks to pick-up packages is generally referred as curbside lockers48-2 as shown in FIG. 48 because the locker must be located near thecurbside so that the trucks can access the locker. Instead of installingthe front door of the curbside locker with a hinge for opening andclosing the door, the front door will have a pivot point 48-3 aroundwhich the longer portion 48-4 and shorter portion 48-5 of the front doorwould move. The amount of movement caused on the longer portion 48-4 bythe movement on the shorter side 48-5 would depend on the position ofthe pivot 48-3 that separate the front door into longer portion 48-4 andshorter portion 48-5. In any event, any movement on shorter portion 48-5would cause significantly more movement on the longer portion 48-4. Thelock on the front door can be installed on either side of the pivot.Whether the lock is installed on the longer portion 48-4 or shorterportion 48-5, when the lock is locked both longer 48-4 and shorter 48-5portions cannot be opened. Similarly, whether the lock is installed onthe longer portion 48-4 or on the shorter portion 48-5, when the lock isunlocked and when one portion is opened the other portion will alsoopen. Only the longer portion 48-4 will be used to leave packages or topick up packages. Also, only shorter portion 48-5 will be used to openthe longer portion 48-4. The non-administrator UNLOCK switch shown as48-6 in FIG. 48 will be installed on the shorter portion 48-5. So, whenpressure is applied anywhere on the non-administrator UNLOCK switch 48-6the controller would communicate with the service provider (P) and thecontroller would unlock the front lock which is connected to front door,if the controller receives a successful response. On the other hand, ifthe controller receives an error response the pushing ofnon-administrator UNLOCK switch 48-6 would not open the shorter portion48-5, so the longer portion 48-6 also would not open.

Any outdoor single or double door locker can be easily converted intocurbside locker. Any outdoor single door locker will have a closed backside. Any outdoor double door locker will have a back door controlled bymechanical or electric standalone or electric networked locks. If anoutdoor locker is converted into curbside locker then the locker owner(O) can retrieve the delivered package or place any package for shipmentfrom outside of their secured area but within the boundries of theirproperty. To convert an outdoor locker into a curbside locker, thelocker owner (O) simply modify the front door to include a pivot 48-3and place beacons in front of the front door at 4 corners of the frontdoor. A single or double door outdoor locker where the front side of thesingle or double door locker is shown as longer portion 48-4 and shorterportion 48-5 with a pivot 48-3 as shown in FIG. 48.

Any truck that is carrying packages for delivery and/or carryingpackages that have been picked up can be converted into trucks that candeliver and pickup packages automatically just by having an opening witha door on the curbside of the truck and a package movement mechanismsimilar to package movement used in any goods carrier (G) warehouse. Theopening with a door would be used for passage of goods from the truck(T) to curbside locker as well as for passage of goods from curbsidelockers to trucks (T). In order, for the opening with a door could beused for passage of goods, the truck must be parked at a particularposition which would be closest to the curbside locker and also parallelto the front door of the curbside locker.

The truck would get the LockSerialNumber and exact GPS coordinates(LockerLatitude and LockerLongitude) of locker for each package to bedelivered or to be picked up from the goods carrier (G). The truck (T)would use the exact GPS coordinates of the locker along with a mappingsoftware such as Google Map to reach the locker. To assist the truck (T)further in accessing the curbside locker close enough to deliver orpickup packages, the curbside locker will have one or more beaconsinstalled on the curbside locker and the truck (T) may have one or moreBluetooth readers installed on the door of the opening that would beused for passage of goods. Beacons are small Bluetooth radiotransmitters that send out its identifiers as frequently as 10 times ina second. Bluetooth readers are readers that can read the datatransmitted by the beacons. The signal strength of the data received bythe Bluetooth readers would depend on the strength of the data beingtransmitted by the beacons and the proximity of the beacons to theBluetooth readers. As an example, the curbside locker 48-2 with beaconsand the truck (T) 48-11 with Bluetooth readers are shown in FIG. 48. Asshown in FIG. 48, the curbside locker can have 4 beacons 48-7, 48-8,48-9 and 48-10 one on each corner of the front door of the locker facingtowards the path of trucks. The beacon 48-7 installed at the top leftcorner of the front door of the locker would transmit the front sidelock serial number of the locker plus a text of ‘TL’. The beacon 48-8installed at the top right corner of the front door of the locker wouldtransmit the front side lock serial number of the locker plus a text of‘TR’. The beacon 48-9 installed at the bottom right corner of the frontdoor of the locker would transmit the front side lock serial number ofthe locker plus a text of ‘BR’. The beacon 48-10 installed at the bottomleft corner of the front door of the locker would transmit the frontside lock serial number of the locker plus a text of ‘BL’. The truckcompatible to automatically deliver or pick up goods from the lockerswould be Bluetooth enabled and may have 4 Bluetooth readers 48-14,48-15, 48-16 and 48-17 one on each corner facing towards the curbside onthe delivery side. Again, as shown in n FIG. 48, the Bluetooth reader48-14 installed at the top left corner of the truck would try to locatethe beacon that transmits the front side lock serial number plus a textof ‘TL’. The Bluetooth 48-15 reader installed at the top right corner ofthe truck would try to locate the beacon that transmits the front sidelock serial number plus a text of ‘TR’. The Bluetooth 48-16 readerinstalled at the bottom right corner of the truck would try to locatethe beacon that transmits the front side lock serial number plus a textof ‘BR’. The Bluetooth 48-17 reader installed at the bottom left cornerof the truck (T) would try to locate the beacon that transmits the frontside lock serial number plus a text of ‘BL’.

The truck (T) 48-11 would have a payload area 48-12 where the packagesto be delivered and/or packages picked up for shipping are stored in anorderly manner so that the truck (T) 48-11 can identify each storedpackage for delivery as well as each picked up package for shipping. Thehardware and software installed within the truck would select thepackage to be delivered and move the package to the opening with thedoor that would be used for passage of the packages into the curbsidelocker. The hardware and software installed within the truck would alsoselect the package to be picked up from the curbside locker and move thepackage through the opening with the door that would be used for passageof the packages into the truck payload area.

The truck would use a retractable 48-13 where the plunger 48-13 wouldconsist of a plunger header 48-18, plunger spring 48-19 and a plungertip 48-20. When the truck (T) 48-11 using the plunger 48-13 push thenon-administrator UNLOCK button 48-6, the shorter portion 48-5 would bepushed by the plunger tip 48-20 thru the plunger spring 48-19 by theplunger head 48-18, the controller would unlock the lock attached to thefront side of the curbside locker and longer portion 47-4 would openoutwards and the longer portion 48-14 would press the switch or activatesensor 48-21 to notify the truck that the longer portion is completelyopened and the truck can start delivering the package or picking up thepackage using the package holder 48-22, if the lock attached to thefront side of the curbside locker has been authenticated in advance.

When the truck (T) 48-11 using the plunger 48-13 press on thenon-administrator UNLOCK button 48-6, the shorter portion 48-5 would bepushed by the plunger tip 48-20 thru the plunger spring 48-19 by theplunger head 48-18, the controller would not unlock the lock attached tothe front side of the curbside locker and longer portion 48-4 would notopen outwards, if the lock attached to the front side of the curbsidelocker has not been authenticated in advance. When the lock attached tothe front side of the curbside locker is not unlocked, the plungerspring 48-19 would compress and the plunger tip 48-20 would not presshard enough on the shorter portion 48-5 to open.

In certain embodiments instead of using beacons and Bluetooth readers,any hardware and software combination can be used for curbside lockersand trucks to coordinate their position with each other.

In certain embodiments, the merchants (sellers) can also be lockerowners where the Owner Id in the owner database 44-8 would be anidentification to represent the combination of Merchant Id and LocationId. In such embodiments the merchants selling goods and services wouldbe sellers and administrators of the lockers and customers buying goodsand services from the merchants would be buyers and non-administratorsof the lockers.

Although those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize thatvirtually unlimited alternatives are possible, a very high-level butgenerally representative drawing 53-1 of a generic Counter Store Pickupand Drive-Thru Store Pickup and a generic Store Pickup Locker that canbe used with the generic Counter Store Pickup and Drive-Thru StorePickup are shown in FIG. 53. The store pickup lockers accessible forbuyers from seller waiting area is generally referred as Counter StorePickup locker 53-16 as shown in FIG. 53. The store pickup lockersaccessible for buyers from drive thru lanes of sellers is generallyreferred as Drive-Thru Store Pickup Internal lockers 53-13 andDrive-Thru Store Pickup External lockers 53-15 as shown in FIG. 53.Buyers can place orders in advance or at the seller location 53-2 in thebuyer waiting area 53-3 or in the drive-thru lane 53-12 as shown in FIG.53.

Any Networked single door on the front side and hollow on the back sideor any Networked double door locker can be easily converted into CounterStore Pickup locker 53-16 or Drive-Thru Store Pickup Internal locker.Any Networked single door on the front side and a swinging door withoutlock on the top side can be easily converted into Drive-Thru StorePickup External locker. Any Networked double door with a door on thefront side and a swinging door with a lock on the top side can be easilyconverted into Drive-Thru Store Pickup External locker.

The sellers use one or more computer applications in each seller'slocation. The seller computer application would use Store Pickup LockerStatus Request API provided by the service provider (P) as shown in 52-Aand receive the response as shown in 52-R as needed. The seller computerapplication would use the data received in response to control theaccess for buyers to the drive-thru lane using an arm to raise or loweror a signal to turn green or red, to display status of orders in thedisplay monitor 53-18 for the buyers waiting in the waiting area 53-3and to display and maintain data in order display monitors 53-8, theseller computer applications would communicate with the service provider(P) thru Store Pickup Locker Status Request API process under APIGateway section to get the lock status of all doors in all lockers inreal time.

Buyers picking up the orders from the seller waiting area 53-3 and havenot placed the orders in advance would place the order with an associateover the counter 53-6. Buyers picking up the orders from the sellerdrive-thru lane 53-12 and have not placed the orders in advance 53-9would stop at the counter and place the order with an associate from thedrive-thru lane. The same live associate not only can take orders fromwalk-in buyers from waiting area 53-3 but also can take orders fromdriving thru lanes. The live associate could use any point of salesystem 53-7 which is placed on the partition shown as 53-6 dividing themerchant location into walk-in buyers waiting area 53-3 and orderpreparation area 53-4. When a buyer places an order in advance or at theseller location 53-2 with an associate the seller would add the orderinformation into store pickup database 44-15 as per the schema 50-1 asshown in FIG. 50 using the order number and the consumer id of the buyerthru the store pickup authcode request API provided by the serviceprovider (P) to sellers and as shown in FIG. 51-A. The consumer id couldbe maintained by the seller or provided to the seller by a walletservice provider who can same as the service provider (P). When an orderis placed over the counter the checked in information will beautomatically set to ‘Y’. If a customer id is not available for examplecustomers placing orders at the location and making payment outside ofwallet service provider, the customer id could be blank.

When an order is placed in advance, the seller computer applicationwould submit a request to add a row of information into store pickupdatabase 44-15 based on the API specification as shown in FIG. 51-A andthe submitted store pickup authcode request would be processed by theservice provider (P) as explained in Store Pickup Authcode API Processunder API Gateway. The seller would provide the values for MerchantId,LocationId, Password, ‘A’ for AccessType, OrderNumber, ConsumerId, ‘N’for CheckedIn, blank for LockSerialNumber, blank for AuthCode, blank forAuthenticated, valid values for ExpirationDate and ExpirationTime. Uponreceiving a request from seller for a store pickup authcode, the serviceprovider (P) would process the request as explained in Store PickupAuthcode API process under API Gateway section and return a response.The seller would evaluate the response. If the value for ReturnCode is‘1’ in the response, then the request is successful, the serviceprovider (P) would have added a row of information into store pickupdatabase 44-15 and a value for authcode would have been returned in theresponse, otherwise the request is not successful. If the request issuccessful, then the seller computer application would include theauthcode value in the receipt given or sent to the buyer.

When an order is placed at the location at the drive-thru lane, theseller computer application would submit a request to add a row ofinformation into store pickup database 44-15 based on the APIspecification as shown in FIG. 51-A and the submitted store pickupauthcode request would be processed by the service provider (P) asexplained in Store Pickup Authcode API Process under API Gateway. Theseller would provide the values for MerchantId, LocationId, Password,‘A’ for AccessType, OrderNumber, ConsumerId, ‘N’ for CheckedIn, blankfor LockSerialNumber, blank for AuthCode, valid values forExpirationDate and ExpirationTime.

Upon receiving a request from seller for a store pickup authcode, theservice provider (P) would process the request as explained in StorePickup Authcode API process under API Gateway section and return aresponse. The seller would evaluate the response. If the value forReturnCode is ‘1’ in the response, then the request is successful, theservice provider (P) would have added a row or information into storepickup database 44-15 and a value for authcode which can be a randomnumber or a number based on the order number would have been returned inthe response, otherwise the request is not successful. If the request issuccessful, then the seller computer application would include theAuthCode value in the receipt given or sent to the buyer.

When an order is placed at the location from the buyer waiting area, theseller computer application would submit a request to add a row ofinformation into store pickup database 44-15 based on the APIspecification as shown in FIG. 51-A and the submitted store pickupauthcode request would be processed by the service provider (P) asexplained in Store Pickup Authcode API Process under API Gateway. Theseller would provide the values for MerchantId, LocationId, Password,‘A’ for AccessType, OrderNumber, ConsumerId, ‘Y’ for CheckedIn, blankfor LockSerialNumber, blank for AuthCode, valid values forExpirationDate and ExpirationTime.

Upon receiving a request from seller for a store pickup authcode, theservice provider (P) would process the request as explained in StorePickup Authcode API process under API Gateway section and return aresponse. The seller would evaluate the response. If the value forReturnCode is ‘1’ in the response, then the request is successful, theservice provider (P) would have added a row or information into storepickup database 44-15 and a value for AuthCode would have been returnedin the response, otherwise the request is not successful. If the requestis successful, then the seller computer application would include theAuthCode value in the receipt given or sent to the buyer.

When an order is placed in advance or at the location the buyer wouldreceive an electronic and/or paper receipt where the receipt wouldinclude an authorization code and an order number where theauthorization code is assigned by the service provider. For the ordersplaced in advance, the seller can also track the buyer's vehicle, ifavailable, within a short radius from seller's location to estimate thearrival time of buyer's vehicle to pick up the order. Buyers picking upthe orders from the seller waiting are 53-3 and have placed the ordersin advance have to check-in so that the seller would know that the buyeris ready to pick up the order whereas the buyer placed an order with anassociate over the counter 53-6 would be automatically checked in.

Buyers picking up the orders from the seller waiting area 53-3 and havenot checked in must scan the QR Code 53-17 using a mobile device andusing an application provided by the seller or by the service provider(P) to check-in. The QR Code could identify the required action, themerchant id and the location id where the required action would be tocheck-in to pick up the order and the merchant id and the location idare the identifiers saved by the seller in the merchant database 44-9and an example for such a QR Code could be 30-778127-82. The buyer coulduse a mobile app provided by the seller or by the service provider (P).If the buyer uses an app provided by the seller, then the seller wouldverify consumer id based on the mobile device and update the storepickup database 44-15 with checked-in information using the consumer id,AccessType as ‘C’ and CheckedIn as ‘Y’ thru the store pickup authcodeAPI. If the buyer uses an app provided by the service provider (P), thenthe service provider (P) who may be also same as the wallet serviceprovider for the seller would verify the consumer id and update thestore pickup database 44-15 with the checked in information. If for somereason the app used by the buyer cannot update the store pickup database44-15 with the checked in information just by scanning the QR Code, thenthe app would capture the order number from the buyer and follow thesame procedure using order number instead of consumer id to update thestore pickup database.

Buyers picking up the orders from the seller waiting area 53-3, alreadyplaced the orders and already checked in would wait for the lockernumber to be displayed on the display monitor 53-18.

Buyers picking up the orders from the seller drive-thru lane 53-12 andhave already placed the order online or at the drive-thru lane shown as53-9 would stop at the entrance shown as 53-10 to the drive-thru lane53-12 and wait for the arm blocking the drive-thru lane to raise 53-11or for a signal to turn green 53-11.

The seller computer application controlling the access for buyers to thedrive-thru lane using an arm to raise and lower or a signal to turngreen and red will determine the total number of available Drive-ThruStore Pickup lockers by combining Drive-Thru Store Pickup Internal andDrive-Thru Store Pickup External lockers together from the status of alldoors in all lockers received from the service provider (P). If thetotal number of available Drive-Thru Store Pickup lockers is one ormore, then the seller computer application would allow one vehicle at atime to pass through the arm 53-11 or signal 53-11 at the entrance ofthe drive-thru lane and deduct the total number of available Drive-ThruStore Pickup lockers by one at a time. When the total number ofavailable Drive-Thru Store Pickup lockers reaches 0, then the sellercomputer application would determine the total number of availableDrive-Thru Store Pickup lockers by combining Drive-Thru Store PickupInternal and Drive-Thru Store Pickup External lockers together from thestatus of all doors in all lockers received from the service provider(P) by using the Store Pickup Locker Status Request API process underAPI Gateway section. Once the arm blocking the drive-thru lane 53-11raises or for the signal 53-11 turns green the buyer would drive to oneof the available locker. All the lockers where the front door isunlocked will be available for the buyers to request for their pickuporders. The locker capable of accepting requests from buyers for orderpick-ups from drive thru lanes is generally referred as Drive-Thru StorePickup Internal lockers 53-13 and Drive-Thru Store Pickup Externallockers 53-15 as shown in FIG. 53 because the locker must be locatednear the drive thru lanes 53-12 so that the buyers can access the lockerfrom drive-thru lanes. Drive-Thru Store Pickup Internal lockers 53-13are attached to the building 53-2 of the seller whereas Drive-Thru StorePickup External lockers 53-15 are not attached to the building 53-2 ofthe seller and orders can be transported from seller order preparationarea 53-4 to the Drive-Thru Store Pickup External lockers 53-15 bydrones or thru transport pipes or by any other means. Buyers' vehicles53-10 driven thru the drive-thru lane 53-12 can be parked near anyinternal locker 53-13 or external locker 53-15 to pick up the ordersfrom the lockers. When the buyer accesses an available locker, the buyerwould be instructed to scan a QR Code displayed on the locker usingtheir mobile device or to enter a code printed on their sales receipt orto enter a specific number of digits from the order number and to pressnon-administrator LOCK button that is part of the locker. The buyerusing a mobile device and using an application provided by the seller orby the service provider (P) could scan the QR Code displayed on thelocker where the QR Code is to identify required action and the data andan example for such a QR Code could be 27-340192 where ‘27’ could be foradvance authentication and 340192 could be the locker serial number. Theapplication provided by the seller or by the service provider byscanning the code would know that the user is scanning the QR Code foran advance authentication to lock or unlock the locker. If the buyerused the application provided by the seller then the seller would verifythe buyer and use the consumer id of the buyer, the locker serial numberand access type ‘N’ in the store pickup authcode API to authenticate thebuyer in the store pickup database 44-15, so that when the buyer pressnon-administrator LOCK button the locker would lock. If the buyer usedthe application provided by the service provider, then the serviceprovider would verify the buyer and use the consumer id of the buyer andthe locker serial number to update the field Authenticated to ‘Y’ instore pickup database 44-15, so that when the buyer pressesnon-administrator LOCK button the locker would lock

The buyer instead of using a mobile device for an advanceauthentication, can also enter an authorization code in the key padattached to the locker and press the non-administrator LOCK button. Thepaper and/or the electronic receipt given to the buyer when the orderwas placed by the buyer has an authorization code that can be used tolock the non-administrator LOCK.

When the non-administrator LOCK button is pressed, the controllerattached to the non-administrator LOCK button would communicate with theservice provider (P) and if the response is successful, then thecontroller would lock the front door of the locker. The response will besuccessful only if the buyer has placed an order and the order iswaiting to be picked up.

Buyers picking up the orders from the seller drive-thru lane 53-12 andhave already placed the orders and already have selected and locked anavailable locker from the seller drive thru lane would wait for thelocked locker to unlock and then pick up the order from the unlockedlocker.

Based on the information received from the service provider thru StorePickup Locker Status Request API, the seller computer application woulddisplay all the orders that are ready to be prepared in the orderdisplay monitors 53-8 with a locker number already assigned for theorder or without a locker number. If the pickup of the order is fromDrive-Thru Store Pickup locker than the order would already have aDrive-Thru Store Pickup locker number, otherwise the order handler haveto assign a Counter Store Pickup locker number to the order. For theorders that are to be placed inside Drive-Thru Store Pickup locker, theorder handler would simply place the order inside the designatedDrive-Thru Store Pickup locker and press the administrator UNLOCKbutton. If the assigned locker is Drive-Thru Store Pickup Externallocker then the transporter 53-14 in the order preparation area 53-4will be used to transport the orders from the order preparation area53-4 to Drive-Thru Store Pickup external lockers 53-15. The transporterwould automatically press administrator UNLOCK button after placing theorder inside the Drive-Thru Store Pickup External locker. Then the buyerwould pick up the order from the unlocked Drive-Thru Store Pickup lockerand the Drive-Thru Store Pickup locker would again be available forbuyers picking up orders from Drive-Thru Store Pickup lockers.

For the orders that are to be placed inside Counter Store Pickup locker,the order handler would simply select Counter Store Pickup locker numberfor any orders that do not have a designated Counter Store Pickup lockernumber in the order display monitor and place the order in the CounterStore Pickup locker. When the order handler selects a Counter StorePickup locker number for a specific order in the order display monitor,the seller computer application would communicate with the serviceprovider (P) using Store Pickup Authcode API Process with the value ‘L’for AccessType, order handler selected order number for OrderNumber andlockserialnumber of the order handler selected Counter Store Pickuplocker for LockSerialNumber. Then the buyers waiting to pick up orderscould view the Counter Store Pickup locker number in the order displaystatus monitor 53-18. Buyers can open Counter Store Pickup lockers byscanning the QR Code attached to the Counter Store Pickup lockers and bypressing the non-administrator UNLOCK button or by entering a code in akey pad attached to the Counter Store Pickup lockers and by pressing thenon-administrator UNLOCK button to pick up the orders. The unlockedCounter Store Pickup lockers can lock itself automatically or can belocked by order handlers using the administrator LOCK button when theyare unlocked. Locked Counter Store Pickup lockers would be available fororder handlers to load the order again.

Before continuing with any particular example to generally describefurther details of the implementation with respect to deployment diagramas shown in FIG. 44, it should be noted that consumer locker owners (O)using at least one lock should be registered with the service provider(P) to receive a unique owner id. The service provider can assignunlimited number of unique owner ids. The consumer locker owners (O)should also complete the initial setup which consists of populating thelocker owner database 44-8 as per the very high-level but generallyrepresentative schema 27-1 using the form 34-D provided by the serviceprovider (P) in a web site or in a mobile app, populating the lockerdatabase 44-11 as per the very high-level but generally representativeschema 30-1 using the form 37-D provided by the service provider (P) ina web site.

Before continuing with any particular example to generally describefurther details of the Merchant StorePickup Services implementation withrespect to deployment diagram as shown in FIG. 44, it should be notedthat store pickup locker owners (MO) should also complete the initialsetup which consists of populating the locker owner database 44-8 as perthe very high-level but generally representative schema 27-1 using theform 34-M-D provided by the service provider (P) in a web site or in amobile app, populating the locker database 44-11 as per the veryhigh-level but generally representative schema 30-1 using the form37-M-D provided by the service provider (P) in a web site.

As particularly shown in FIG. 19, the Consumer Lockers Adaption method(82) of the present invention generally comprises the registration ofusers where the users are referred as locker owners. FIG. 19 shows, in aflowchart, an overview of the various steps generally taken inadding/updating users also referred as locker owners.

As shown in FIG. 19, the service provider (P) would use the veryhigh-level flow chart 19-1 as per the use case (82) of the presentinvention for the consumer locker owners (O) to add/update lockerowners' (O) information. The service provider (P) would provide a form34-D as shown in FIG. 34-D, in a web site or in a mobile application forthe locker owner (O) to add/update locker owners' information. Beforeproviding the form 34-D to add/update locker owners' information, theservice provider (P) would require that the locker owner (O) beauthenticated. The locker owner (O), would be presented with a log-inform 34-L as shown in FIG. 34-L and the locker owner (O) would use thepassword provided by the service provider (P) and maintained by theConsumer Locker owner (O) to log-in. The locker owner (O) would enterowner id and password into the log-in form 34-L as shown in FIG. 34-L.If the submitted credentials are valid then the locker owner (O) wouldbe authenticated, otherwise the service provider would terminate theprocess. Instead of using user id and password to log-in, locker owner(O) can also use a mobile authentication application with a biometricverification such as MslWallet where the locker owner (O) would justscan a QR Code displayed on the log-in page as shown in FIG. 34-L tolog-in. In either case, if the locker owner is authenticated, theservice provider (P) would generally continue to populate the fields inthe form 34-D as shown in FIG. 34-D, otherwise it will terminate theprocess. To populate the fields in the form 34-D, the service provider(P) would use the owner id and get the most recent values for the ownerid from the locker owner database (44-8) using the representative schema27-1 as shown in FIG. 27. If the locker owner (O) does not exist in thelocker owner database (44-8) then the service provider (P) wouldpopulate the fields in the form 34-D with blanks.

Once the form as shown in FIG. 34-D is presented, the locker owner (O)would enter the required information into appropriate fields and clickon submit button. The service provider (P) would validate the submittedinformation and if the submitted information is valid then the serviceprovider (P) would update the locker owner database (44-8), otherwisethe service provider (P) would terminate the validation process, displayan error message and wait to receive the data again. The validationprocess includes validation of values of each individual field namelystatus, first name, middle name, last name, address line 1, address line2, city, state, zip 1, zip 2, phone, mobile phone number, mobile deviceidentifier, eMail address, latitude, longitude and new password. Theowner id is a unique number provided by service client (P) to eachindividual locker owner.

If the status is Active or Inactive then, the validation process willcontinue otherwise, the validation process will terminate. If the firstname or last name or email address or is blank, then the validationprocess will terminate otherwise it will continue. The value for middlename is optional. If email address is a valid email address, then theprocess will continue otherwise it will terminate. If phone is blank orvalid phone number then the process will continue, otherwise it willterminate. If mobile phone number is not blank and valid mobile phonenumber then the process will continue, otherwise it will terminate. Ifthe same mobile phone number is used for more than one owner id then theprocess will terminate, otherwise it will continue. If mobile deviceidentifier is not blank, then the process will continue, otherwise itwill terminate. If the same mobile device identifier is used for morethan one owner id then the process will terminate, otherwise it willcontinue. If the latitude and longitude are valid for the enteredaddress then the validation process will continue, otherwise it willterminate. If the validation process terminates anytime during thevalidation process an error message will be displayed in the form 34-Dand the service provider (P) will wait to receive the data again. If thevalidation process does not terminate and the entered values of all thefields as shown in FIG. 34-D are valid, then the service provider (P)would update the locker owner database (44-8) as per the schema 27-1 asshown in FIG. 27. If owner id does not exist in the locker ownerdatabase (44-8) then, the locker owner information will be added in thelocker owner database (44-8) otherwise, the locker owner informationwill be updated in the locker owner database (44-8). If the password isblank, then the last previously set password will be carried forward.

As shown in FIG. 22, the service provider (P) would use the veryhigh-level flow chart 22-1 as per the use case 53 of the presentinvention for the consumer locker owners (O) to add/update locker (L)information. The service provider (P) would provide a form 37-D as shownin FIG. 37-D, in a web site or in a mobile application for the lockerowner (O) to add/update locker information. Before providing the form37-D to add/update locker information, the service provider (P) wouldrequire that the locker owner (O) be authenticated. The locker owner(O), would be presented with a log-in form 37-L as shown in FIG. 37-Land the locker owner (O) would use the password provided by the serviceprovider (P) and maintained by the locker owner (O) to log-in. Thelocker owner (O) would enter locker owner id, locker number and passwordinto the log-in form 37-L as shown in FIG. 37-L. If the submittedcredentials are valid then the locker owner (O) would be authenticated,otherwise the service provider would terminate the process. Instead ofusing user id and password to log-in, locker owner (O) can also use amobile authentication application with a biometric verification such asMslWallet where the locker owner (O) would just scan a QR Code displayedon the log-in page as shown in FIG. 37-L to log-in. In either case, ifthe locker owner (O) is authenticated, the service provider (P) wouldgenerally continue to populate the fields in the form 37-D as shown inFIG. 37-D, otherwise it will terminate the process. To populate thefields in the form 37-D, the service provider (P) would use the lockerowner id and locker number and get the most recent values for the lockernumber owned by the locker owner id from the locker database (44-11)using the representative schema 30-1 as shown in FIG. 30. If the lockernumber under the locker owner (O) does not exist in the locker database(44-11) then the service provider (P) would populate the fields in theform 37-D with blanks.

Once the form as shown in FIG. 37-D is presented, the locker owner (O)would enter the required information into appropriate fields and clickon submit button. The service provider (P) would validate the submittedinformation and if the submitted information is valid then the serviceprovider (P) would update the locker database (44-11), otherwise theservice provider (P) would terminate the validation process, display anerror message and wait to receive the data again. The validation processincludes validation of values of each individual field namely status,location type, number of doors, front side lock type, front side lockserial number, back side lock type, back side lock serial number, backside cover, admin switch restricted, package size width, package sizeheight, package size depth, number of bins, drone access allowed, truckaccess allowed, locker latitude, locker longitude, directions text anddirections map. The combination of locker owner id and locker number isunique and provided by service client (P) to each individual lockerowner.

If the status is Active or Inactive then, the validation process willcontinue otherwise, the validation process will terminate. If the lockerlocation type ‘I’, or ‘D’ or ‘K’ or ‘G’ or ‘R’ or ‘F’ or ‘C’ or ‘O’ andnumber of doors is 1 or 2 and front side lock type is ‘N’ or ‘S’ or ‘B’and admin switch restricted is ‘Y’ or ‘N’ and front side lock serialnumber is not blank then the validation process will continue otherwiseit will terminate. If number of doors is 1 and if back side lock type is‘B’ and back side lock serial number is blank, then the validationprocess will continue otherwise it will terminate. If number of doors is2 and if back side lock type is ‘B’ or back side lock serial number isblank, then the validation process will terminate otherwise it willcontinue. If the package size width is a number and in between 1 and 72then the validation process will continue, otherwise it will terminate.If the package size height is a number and in between 1 and 72 then thevalidation process will continue, otherwise it will terminate. If thepackage size depth is a number and in between 1 and 72 then thevalidation process will continue, otherwise it will terminate. If thenumber of bins is a number then the validation process will continue,otherwise it will terminate. If the drone access allowed is ‘Y’ or ‘N’then the validation process will continue, otherwise it will terminate.If the truck access allowed is ‘Y’ or ‘N’ then the validation processwill continue, otherwise it will terminate. If the manual access allowedis ‘Y’ or ‘N’ then the validation process will continue, otherwise itwill terminate. If front side lock type is ‘B’ and if truck accessallowed is ‘Y’ or manual access allowed is ‘Y’ then the validationprocess will terminate. If the locker latitude is not blank and is anumber then the validation process will continue, otherwise it willterminate. If the locker longitude is not blank and is a number then thevalidation process will continue, otherwise it will terminate. If lockerdirections map is not blank and if the locker directions map location isnot found by the web site or by the mobile application, then thevalidation process will terminate otherwise it will continue. If thevalidation process does not terminate and the entered values of all thefields as shown in FIG. 37-D are valid, then the service provider (P)would update the locker database (44-11) as per the schema 30-1 as shownin FIG. 30. If locker owner Id and locker number combination does notexist in the locker database (44-11) then, the locker information willbe added in the locker database (44-11) otherwise, the lockerinformation will be updated in the locker database (44-11). When thelocker information is updated the last previously set values for frontside lock status and back side lock status will be carried forward.

Merchants (M), prior to using authorization code API and/orauthentication API offered by the service provider (P) or beforeregistering a locker, could register with the service provider (P) toreceive unique merchant id and location id and complete the setup. Theservice provider can assign unlimited number of unique merchant ids andunlimited number of unique location ids within each merchant id so thatmerchants (M) can have unlimited number of locations within a merchant.The merchants (M) setup consists of populating the merchant database44-9 as per the very high-level but generally representative schema 28-1using the form 35-D provided by the service provider (P) in a web siteor in a mobile application.

As shown in FIG. 20, the service provider (P) would use the veryhigh-level flow chart 20-1 as per the use case 51 of the presentinvention for the merchant (M) to add/update merchants' (M) information.The service provider (P) would provide a form 35-D as shown in FIG.35-D, in a web site or in a mobile application for the merchant (M) toadd/update merchants' information. Before providing the form 35-D toadd/update merchants' information, the service provider (P) wouldrequire that the merchant (M) be authenticated. The merchant (M) wouldbe presented with a log-in form 35-L as shown in FIG. 35-L and themerchant (M) would use the password provided by the service provider (P)and maintained by the merchant (M) to log-in. The merchant (M) wouldenter merchant id, location id and password into the log-in form 35-L asshown in FIG. 35-L. If the submitted credentials are valid then themerchant (M) would be authenticated, otherwise the service providerwould terminate the process. Instead of using user id and password tolog-in, merchant (M) can also use a mobile authentication applicationwith a biometric verification such as MslWallet where the merchant (M)would just scan a QR Code displayed on the log-in page as shown in FIG.35-L to log-in. In either case, if the merchant (M) is authenticated,the service provider (P) would generally continue to populate the fieldsin the form 35-D as shown in FIG. 35-D, otherwise it will terminate theprocess. To populate the fields in the form 35-D, the service provider(P) would use the merchant id and location id and get the most recentvalues for the merchant id and location id from the merchant database(44-9) using the representative schema 28-1 as shown in FIG. 28. If themerchant (M) does not exist in the merchant database (44-9), then theservice provider (P) would populate the fields in the form 35-D withblanks.

Once the form as shown in FIG. 35-D is presented, the merchant (M) wouldenter the required information into appropriate fields and click onsubmit button. The service provider (P) would validate the submittedinformation and if the submitted information is valid then the serviceprovider (P) would update the merchant database (44-9), otherwise theservice provider (P) would terminate the validation process, display anerror message and wait to receive the data again. The validation processincludes validation of values of each individual field namely status,merchant name, location name, contact first name, contact last name,address line 1, address line 2, city, state, zip 1, zip 2, phone, mobilephone number, eMail address, IP address, latitude, longitude, servicearea (Radius in Miles), authcode API, authentication API and newpassword. The combination of merchant id and location id is a uniqueprovided by service client (P) to each individual merchant. If themerchant does not have a location, then merchant id and location id canbe same.

If the status is Active or Inactive then, the validation process willcontinue otherwise, the validation process will terminate. If themerchant name, location name, contact first name or contact last name oremail address or address line 1 or the city or the state or state oremail address or latitude or longitude or service area (radius in miles)or authcode API or authentication API is blank, then the validationprocess will terminate otherwise it will continue. If email address is avalid email address, then the process will continue otherwise it willterminate. If phone is blank or valid phone number then the validationprocess will continue, otherwise it will terminate. If mobile phonenumber is blank or valid mobile phone number then the validation processwill continue, otherwise it will terminate. If mobile phone number isnot blank and the same mobile phone number is used for more than onemerchant id and location id combination then the validation process willterminate, otherwise it will continue. If authcode API is ‘Y’ or ‘N’then the validation process will continue, otherwise it will terminate.If authentication API is ‘Y’ or ‘N’ then the validation process willcontinue, otherwise it will terminate. If the validation processterminates anytime during the validation process an error message willbe displayed in the form 35-D and the service provider (P) will wait toreceive the data again. If the validation process does not terminate andthe entered values of all the fields as shown in FIG. 35-D are valid,then the service provider (P) would update the merchant database (44-9)as per the schema 28-1 as shown in FIG. 28. If merchant Id and locationid combination does not exist in the merchant database (44-9) then, themerchant information will be added in the merchant database (44-9)otherwise, the merchant information will be updated in the merchantdatabase (44-9). If the password is blank, then the last previously setpassword will be carried forward.

As shown in FIG. 22, the service provider (P) would use the veryhigh-level flow chart 22-1 as per the use case 53 of the presentinvention for the store pickup locker owners (MO) to add/update locker(ML) information. The service provider (P) would provide a form 37-M-Das shown in FIG. 37-M-D, in a web site or in a mobile application forthe locker owner (MO) to add/update locker information. Before providingthe form 37-M-D to add/update locker information, the service provider(P) would require that the locker owner (MO) be authenticated. Thelocker owner (MO), would be presented with a log-in form 37-M-L as shownin FIG. 37-M-L and the locker owner (O) would use the password providedby the service provider (P) and maintained by the Merchant (M) who isthe locker owner (MO) to log-in. The locker owner (MO) would enterlocker owner id, locker number and password into the log-in form 37-M-Las shown in FIG. 37-M-L. The format for the locker owner id would bethree parts separated by ‘-’ where the first part would be ‘M’, thesecond part would be merchant id and the third part would be locationid. If the submitted credentials are valid then the locker owner (MO)would be authenticated, otherwise the service provider would terminatethe process. Instead of using user id and password to log-in, lockerowner (MO) can also use a mobile authentication application with abiometric verification such as MslWallet where the locker owner (MO)would just scan a QR Code displayed on the log-in page as shown in FIG.37-M-L to log-in. In either case, if the locker owner (MO) isauthenticated, the service provider (P) would generally continue topopulate the fields in the form 37-M-D as shown in FIG. 37-M-D,otherwise it will terminate the process. To populate the fields in theform 37-M-D, the service provider (P) would use the locker owner id andlocker number and get the most recent values for the locker number ownedby the locker owner id from the locker database (44-11) using therepresentative schema 30-1 as shown in FIG. 30. If the locker numberunder the locker owner (MO) does not exist in the locker database(44-11) then the service provider (P) would populate the fields in theform 37-M-D with blanks.

Once the form as shown in FIG. 37-M-D is presented, the locker owner (O)would enter the required information into appropriate fields and clickon submit button. The service provider (P) would validate the submittedinformation and if the submitted information is valid then the serviceprovider (P) would update the locker database (44-11), otherwise theservice provider (P) would terminate the validation process, display anerror message and wait to receive the data again. The validation processincludes validation of values of each individual field namely status,location type, number of doors, front side lock type, front side lockserial number, back side lock type, back side lock serial number, backside cover, and admin switch restricted. The service provider (P) wouldautomatically set blank for the fields package size width, package sizeheight, package size depth, number of bins, truck access allowed, droneaccess allowed, manual access allowed, locker latitude, lockerlongitude, directions text and directions map. The combination of lockerowner id and locker number is unique and provided by service client (P)to each individual locker owner.

If the status is Active or Inactive then, the validation process willcontinue otherwise, the validation process will terminate. If the lockerlocation type or ‘W’ or ‘B’ and number of doors is 1 or 2 and front sidelock type is ‘N’ and admin switch restricted is ‘Y’ or ‘N’ and frontside lock serial number is not blank, then the validation process willcontinue otherwise it will terminate. If number of doors is 1 and ifback side lock type is ‘B’ and back side lock serial number is blank,then the validation process will continue otherwise it will terminate.If number of doors is 2 and if back side lock type is ‘B’ or back sidelock serial number is blank, then the validation process will terminateotherwise it will continue.

If the validation process does not terminate and the entered values ofall the fields as shown in FIG. 37-M-D are valid, then the serviceprovider (P) would update the locker database (44-11) as per the schema30-1 as shown in FIG. 30. If locker owner Id and locker numbercombination does not exist in the locker database (44-11) then, thelocker information will be added in the locker database (44-11)otherwise, the locker information will be updated in the locker database(44-11). When the locker information is updated the last previously setvalues for front side lock status and back side lock status will becarried forward.

Goods Carriers (G) prior to using authorization code API and/orauthentication API offered by the service provider (P) could registerwith the service provider (P) to receive unique goods carrier id andlocation id and complete the setup. The service provider can assignunlimited number of unique goods carrier ids and unlimited number ofunique location ids within each goods carrier id so that goods carriers(G) can have unlimited number of locations within a goods carrier. Thegoods carriers (G) setup consists of populating the goods carrierdatabase 44-10 as per the very high-level but generally representativeschema 29-1 using the form 36-D provided by the service provider (P) ina web site or in a mobile application.

As shown in FIG. 21, the service provider (P) would use the veryhigh-level flow chart 21-1 as per the use case 52 of the presentinvention for the goods carriers (G) to add/update goods carriers' (G)information. The service provider (P) would provide a form 36-D as shownin FIG. 36-D, in a web site or in a mobile application for the goodscarrier (G) to add/update goods carriers' information. Before providingthe form 36-D to add/update goods carriers' information, the serviceprovider (P) would require that the goods carrier (G) be authenticated.The goods carrier (G), would be presented with a log-in form 36-L asshown in FIG. 36-L and the goods carrier (G) would use the passwordprovided by the service provider (P) and maintained by the goods carrier(G) to log-in. The goods carrier (G) would enter goods carrier id,location id and password into the log-in form 36-L as shown in FIG.36-L. If the submitted credentials are valid then the goods carrier (G)would be authenticated, otherwise the service provider would terminatethe process. Instead of using user id and password to log-in, goodscarrier (G) can also use a mobile authentication application with abiometric verification where the goods carrier (G) would just scan a QRCode displayed on the log-in page as shown in FIG. 36-L to log-in. Ineither case, if the merchant (M) is authenticated, the service provider(P) would generally continue to populate the fields in the form 36-D asshown in FIG. 36-D, otherwise it will terminate the process. To populatethe fields in the form 36-D, the service provider (P) would use thegoods carrier id and location id and get the most recent values for thegoods carrier id and location id from the goods carrier database (44-10)using the representative schema 29-1 as shown in FIG. 29. If the goodscarrier (G) does not exist in the goods carrier database (44-10) thenthe service provider (P) would populate the fields in the form 36-D withblanks.

Once the form as shown in FIG. 36-D is presented, the goods carrier (G)would enter the required information into appropriate fields and clickon submit button. The service provider (P) would validate the submittedinformation and if the submitted information is valid then the serviceprovider (P) would update the goods carrier database (44-10), otherwisethe service provider (P) would terminate the validation process, displayan error message and wait to receive the data again. The validationprocess includes validation of values of each individual field namelystatus, goods carrier name, location name, contact first name, contactlast name, address line 1, address line 2, city, state, zip 1, zip 2,phone, mobile phone number, eMail address, IP address, latitude,longitude, service area (Radius in Miles), authcode API, authenticationAPI, package pickup API and new password. The combination of goodscarrier id and location id is unique and provided by service client (P)to each individual goods carrier. If the goods carrier does not have alocation, then goods carrier id and location id can be same.

If the status is Active or Inactive then, the validation process willcontinue otherwise, the validation process will terminate. If the goodscarrier name, location name, contact first name or contact last name oremail address or address line 1 or the city or the state or state oremail address or latitude or longitude or service area (radius in miles)is blank, then the validation process will terminate otherwise it willcontinue. If email address is a valid email address, then the processwill continue otherwise it will terminate. If phone is blank or validphone number then the validation process will continue, otherwise itwill terminate. If mobile phone number is blank or valid mobile phonenumber then the validation process will continue, otherwise it willterminate. If mobile phone number is not blank and the same mobile phonenumber is used for more than one goods carrier id and locationcombination then the validation process will terminate, otherwise itwill continue. If authcode API is ‘Y’ or ‘N’, then the validationprocess will continue, otherwise it will terminate. If authenticationAPI is ‘Y’ or ‘N’, then the validation process will continue, otherwiseit will terminate. If package pickup API is ‘Y’ or ‘N’, then thevalidation process will continue, otherwise it will terminate.

If the validation process terminates anytime during the validationprocess an error message will be displayed in the form 36-D and theservice provider (P) will wait to receive the data again. If thevalidation process does not terminate and the entered values of all thefields as shown in FIG. 36-D are valid, then the service provider (P)would update the goods carrier database (44-10) as per the schema 29-1as shown in FIG. 29. If goods carrier Id and location id combinationdoes not exist in the goods carrier database (44-10) then, the goodscarrier information will be added in the goods carrier database (44-10)otherwise, the goods carrier information will be updated in the goodscarrier database (44-10). If the password is blank, then the lastpreviously set password will be carried forward.

In addition to registering with service providers (P) and adding lockers(L), the locker owner may need from time to time to add/update autocode,and mobile devices.

As shown in FIG. 23, the service provider (P) would use the veryhigh-level flow chart 23-1 as per the use case 54 of the presentinvention for the consumer locker owners (O) to add/update authcodeinformation for lockers (L). The service provider (P) would provide aform 38-D as shown in FIG. 38-D, in a web site or in a mobileapplication for the locker owner (O) to add/update authcode information.Before providing the form 38-D to add/update authcode information, theservice provider (P) would require that the locker owner (O) beauthenticated and a specific locker number and a specific locker sideand a specific tracking number is selected. The locker owner (O), wouldbe presented with a log-in form 38-L as shown in FIG. 38-L and thelocker owner (O) would use the password provided by the service provider(P) and maintained by the locker owner (O) to log-in. The locker owner(O) would enter locker owner id and password into the log-in form 38-Las shown in FIG. 38-L. If the submitted credentials are valid then thelocker owner (O) would be authenticated, otherwise the service providerwould terminate the process. Instead of using user id and password tolog-in, locker owner (O) can also use a mobile authenticationapplication with a biometric verification where the locker owner (O)would just scan a QR Code displayed on the log-in page as shown in FIG.38-L to log-in. In either case, if the locker owner (O) isauthenticated, the service provider (P) would generally continueotherwise it will display an error message and terminate the process. Ifthe locker number under the locker owner (O) does not exist or if thecurrent status of the locker is not Active in the locker database(44-11), then the process will display an error message and willterminate. If the process continues, the form 38-S as shown in FIG. 38-Swill be populated from all the latest rows based owner id, lockernumber, locker side, tracking number, entry date and entry time wherethe authentication code status for the selected rows are active fromauthcode database (44-12). In addition to the selected rows ofinformation the form in 38-S as shown in FIG. 38-S will also bepopulated with an option to add a new tracking number for each activelocker number and active locker side under the owner id. Once the formas shown in FIG. 38-S is presented, the locker owner (O) would select arow using a radio button and click on submit button. The serviceprovider (P) would validate the submitted information and if thesubmitted information is valid the form 38-D as shown in FIG. 38-D willbe populated using the data from authcode database (44-12) based on theselected information and will be presented.

If the locker (L) has more than one bin and if the request type is pickup then then the service provider (P) would provide an option for thelocker owner (O) to select a bin number, otherwise the bin number 1 willbe automatically be selected by the service provider (P).

When the locker owner (O) selects a tracking number that requiresrecipient's signature, then the recipient could put their signature withfingers for the tracking number as shown in FIG. 38-S.

When the locker owner (O) selects a goods carrier (G) and if the requesttype is pick up, then the service provider would display a messagewhether the pickup request would automatically have sent to the serviceprovider (P).

Once the form as shown in FIG. 38-D is presented, the locker owner (O)would enter the required information into appropriate fields and clickon submit button. The service provider (P) would validate the submittedinformation and if the submitted information is valid then the serviceprovider (P) would update the authcode database (44-12), otherwise theservice provider (P) would terminate the validation process, display anerror message and wait to receive the data again. The validation processincludes validation of values of each individual field namely trackingnumber, request type, authorization code, expiration date, expirationtime, authcode status and usage type.

The combination of locker owner id, locker number, locker side andtracking number is unique to each individual authcode. If the trackingnumber or authorization code or expiration date or expiration time isblank, then the validation process will terminate otherwise it willcontinue. If the combination of expiration date and expiration time isvalid and is in the future, then the process will continue otherwise itwill terminate. If the authorization code status is not Active and ifthe tracking number for the selected owner id, locker number and lockerside exist in the database 44-12 then the process will continueotherwise it will terminate. If the request type is ‘D’ which stands fordelivery or ‘P’ which stands for pick up, then the validation processwill continue otherwise it will terminate. If usage type is single ormultiple, then the validation process will continue otherwise it willterminate.

If the validation process does not terminate and the entered values ofall the fields as shown in FIG. 38-D are valid, then the serviceprovider (P) would update the authcode database (44-12) as per theschema 31-1 as shown in FIG. 31. If locker owner Id, locker number,locker side and tracking number combination does not exist in theauthcode database (44-12) then, the authorization code information willbe added in the authcode database (44-12) otherwise, the authorizationcode information will be updated in the authcode database (44-12).

As shown in FIG. 24, the service provider (P) would use the veryhigh-level flow chart 24-1 as per the use case 55 of the presentinvention for the consumer locker owners (O) to add/update mobiledevices information. The service provider (P) would provide a form 39-Das shown in FIG. 39-D, in a web site or in a mobile application for thelocker owner (O) to add/update mobile device information. Beforeproviding the form 39-D to add/update locker information, the serviceprovider (P) would require that the locker owner (O) be authenticated.The locker owner (O) would be presented with a log-in form 39-L as shownin FIG. 39-L and the locker owner (O) would use the password provided bythe service provider (P) and maintained by the locker owner (O) tolog-in. The locker owner (O) would enter locker owner id password intothe log-in form 39-L as shown in FIG. 39-L. If the submitted credentialsare valid then the locker owner (O) would be authenticated, otherwisethe service provider would terminate the process. Instead of using userid and password to log-in, locker owner (O) can also use a mobileauthentication application with a biometric verification such asMslWallet where the locker owner (O) would just scan a QR Code displayedon the log-in page as shown in FIG. 39-L to log-in. In either case, ifthe locker owner (O) is authenticated, the service provider (P) wouldgenerally continue to populate the fields in the form 39-S as shown inFIG. 39-S, otherwise it will terminate the process. If the processcontinues, the form 39-S as shown in FIG. 39-S will be populated fromall the latest rows based on locker owner id and mobile deviceidentification number from mobile device database (44-14). In additionto the selected rows of information the form in 39-S as shown in FIG.39-S will also be populated with an option to add a new mobile deviceidentification numbers for the locker owner id. Once the form as shownin FIG. 39-S is presented, the locker owner (O) would select a row usinga radio button and click on submit button. The service provider (P)would validate the submitted information and if the submittedinformation is valid the form 39-D as shown in FIG. 39-D will bepopulated using the data from mobile device database (44-14) based onthe selected information and will be presented. If the mobile deviceidentifier under the locker owner (O) does not exist in the mobiledevice database (44-14) then the service provider (P) would populate thefields in the form 39-D with blanks.

Once the form as shown in FIG. 39-D is presented, the locker owner (O)would enter the required information into appropriate fields and clickon submit button. The service provider (P) would validate the submittedinformation and if the submitted information is valid then the serviceprovider (P) would update the mobile device database (44-14), otherwisethe service provider (P) would terminate the validation process, displayan error message and wait to receive the data again. The validationprocess includes validation of values of each individual field namelystatus, mobile device id, mobile phone number and joint owner yn. If thestatus is Active or Inactive then, the validation process will continueotherwise, the validation process will terminate. If the mobile phonenumber is not blank and is a valid phone number, then the validationprocess will continue otherwise it will terminate. If the joint owner ynis Yes or No, then the validation process will continue, otherwise itwill terminate. If the mobile device identifier is being used by alocker owner (O) other than the current locker owner (O) then thevalidation process will terminate. An active mobile device identifiermust be unique and can be assigned only for a specific locker owner (O)and cannot exist in both locker owner database 44-8 and mobile devicedatabase (44-14). If the mobile phone number is being used by a lockerowner other than the current locker owner (O) then the validationprocess will terminate. An active mobile phone number must be unique andcan be assigned only for a specific locker owner (O) and cannot exist inboth locker owner database 44-8 and mobile device database (44-14).

If the validation process does not terminate and the entered values ofall the fields as shown in FIG. 39-D are valid, then the serviceprovider (P) would update the mobile device database (44-14) as per theschema 33-1 as shown in FIG. 33. If locker owner Id and mobile deviceidentifier combination does not exist in the mobile device database(44-14) then, the mobile device information will be added in the mobiledevice database (44-14) otherwise, the mobile device information will beupdated in the mobile device database (44-14).

In addition to registering with service providers (P), the merchants (M)and/or goods carriers (G) may need from time to time to add/updateautocode using an API provided by the service providers (P).

As shown in FIG. 25, the service provider (P) would use the veryhigh-level flow chart 25-1 as per the use case 56 of the presentinvention for the merchants (M) or goods carriers to request for anauthcode. Upon receiving a request from the merchants (M) or goodscarriers (G) for an authcode, the service provider (P) would process therequest as explained in Authcode API process under API Gateway sectionand return a response.

In addition to registering with service providers (P), the merchants andgoods carriers may need from time to time to add/update authenticationusing an API provided by the service providers (P).

As shown in FIG. 26, the service provider (P) would use the veryhigh-level flow chart 26-1 as per the use case 57 of the presentinvention for the merchants (M) or goods carriers to submit an advanceauthentication request for a specific lock where the lock is referencedby a serial number. When an advance authentication flag is set to ‘Y’for any lock then any human or drone or delivery truck can open the doorconnected to the lock without entering authcode in the keypad before theadvance authentication flag expires. Upon receiving a request for anadvance authentication from the merchants (M) or goods carriers (G), theservice provider (P) would process the request as explained inAuthentication API process under API Gateway section and return aresponse.

As shown in FIG. 41, the service provider (P) would provide a mobile appfor the consumer locker owners (O), joint owners and authorized users(U) to request for an advance authentication in case of networked locksor to retrieve authcode in case of standalone locks. The mobile appwould capture locker number and optionally a tracking number and wouldsubmit the mobile app request thru mobile app gateway to the serviceprovider (P) and would receive a successful or error response. If theresponse is successful then the requestor (consumer locker owners (O),joint owners and authorized users (U)) would receive instructions on howto open the locker. The details of mobile app and the correspondingprocessing of the mobile app request by the service provider (P) isfurther explained under Mobile App Gateway section.

Continuing then with an example generally described with respect to FIG.44, further details of the implementation are now described by way ofthe following detailed description of a possible use of theimplementation for processing a delivery and/or pickup goods, which, forpurposes of the example, shall be taken pertaining to a delivery orpickup order being conducted with a merchant (M) or a goods carrier (G).

When a delivery order is conducted, the entity initiating the deliveryorder with a merchant (M) or with a goods carrier (G) would provide theinformation about the location of the entity receiving the goodspertaining to the delivery order. The entity initiating the deliveryorder with a merchant (M) or with a goods carrier (G) would be referredas buyer, the merchant (M) or the goods carrier (G) participating in thedelivery order would be referred as seller, the entity receiving thegoods pertaining to the delivery order would be referred as recipientand the person making the deliveries, if any, would be referred aspackage handler. In some instances, the buyer and the recipient would beone and the same.

When the delivery order is concluded, the buyer would receive the nameof the goods carrier (G), the tracking number and the package size andthe buyer would forward the name of the goods carrier (G), the trackingnumber and the package size to the recipient.

The recipient, upon receiving the details about the delivery order,would start a decision process of whether any special deliveryinstructions have to be printed on the shipping label.

If the recipient decides, for any reason, that a specific lockeridentified by a locker number must be used for the delivery order thenthe recipient would decide to print delivery instructions on theshipping label and end the decision process.

If the decision process continues and if the recipient is using astandalone locker and has posted instructions near the standalone lockeron how to determine a one-time default authorization code based on thetracking number then the recipient would simply program the standalonelock attached to the front side door of the locker with a one-timedefault authorization code specific for the tracking number, optionallywould add the one-time default authorization code specific for thetracking number in the authcode database 44-10 using the serviceprovided forms 38-L, 38-S and 38-D as shown in FIGS. 38-L, 38-S and 38-Drespectively and the recipient would decide not to print specialdelivery instructions on the shipping label and end the decisionprocess.

If the decision process continues and if the recipient is using anetworked locker, then the recipient need to know whether the goodscarrier (G) support authentication API so that the front door of thenetworked locker can be opened without a code being entered in the kaypad 10-13 as shown in FIG. 10. In order for the recipient to knowwhether the goods carrier (G) support authentication API or not, therecipient would use the form 40-L and 40-D.

The service provider (P) would provide information 40-D as shown in FIG.40-D, in a web site or in a mobile application for the locker owner (O)to know whether the goods carrier (G) would support authentication APIor not. Before providing the information 40-D, the service provider (P)would require that the recipient be authenticated. The recipient wouldbe presented with a log-in form 40-L as shown in FIG. 40-L and therecipient would use the password provided by the service provider (P)and maintained by the recipient to log-in. The recipient would enterlocker owner id password into the log-in form 40-L as shown in FIG.40-L. If the submitted credentials are valid then the recipient would beauthenticated, otherwise the service provider would terminate theprocess. Instead of using user id and password to log-in, recipient canalso use a mobile authentication application with a biometricverification such as MslWallet where the recipient would just scan a QRCode displayed on the log-in page as shown in FIG. 40-L to log-in. Ineither case, if the recipient is authenticated, then the serviceprovider (P) would generally continue to populate the fields in theinformation 40-D as shown in FIG. 40-D, otherwise it will terminate theprocess. If the process continues, the information 40-D as shown in FIG.40-D will be populated from the latest row in goods carrier (G) database44-10 based for a specific goods carrier (G). If the goods carrier (G)support authentication API, then the recipient would decide not to printany special delivery instructions on the shipping and end the decisionprocess.

If the decision process continues or if the recipient decided to printspecial instructions on the shipping label then the recipient wouldstart the delivery instructions printing process, otherwise therecipient would not start the delivery instructions printing process.

If the recipient starts delivery instructions printing process and ifthe seller is a merchant (M) and if the buyer and the recipient are oneand the same and if the merchant (M) accepts delivery instructions wherethe delivery instructions would be printed on the shipping label, thenthe recipient would have an option to provide the delivery instructionsto the merchant (M), otherwise the recipient would not have an option toprovide the instructions to the merchant (M).

If the delivery instructions printing process continues and if therecipient did not have an option to provide the delivery instructionsand if the goods carrier (G) accepts delivery instructions where thedelivery instructions would be printed on the shipping label, then therecipient would have an option to provide the instructions to the goodscarrier (G).

If the delivery instructions printing process continues and if therecipient has an option to provide delivery instructions to a merchant(M) or a goods carrier (G) then the delivery instructions printingprocess would continue, otherwise it will terminate.

If the delivery instructions printing process continues, then therecipient would start the process of providing delivery instructions toa merchant (M) or to a goods carrier (G) where the merchant (M) or thegoods carrier (G) would be referred as seller. For the seller to startthe process of accepting delivery instructions, the seller would providea web site and/or a mobile app and/or an interactive voice responsesystem and/or a text message option for the recipients to provide atracking number, optional lock serial number where the lock serialnumber is the serial number of the lock controlling the front door of alocker and optional delivery instructions. If the optional lock serialnumber is not blank, then the optional delivery instructions must beblank. The seller would verify that the recipient is a registeredcustomer of the seller by requiring the recipient to log into seller'sweb site using a user id and password or by some kind of authenticationmethod. Upon successful verification of the recipient, the seller wouldverify that the address of the recipient in sellers' database matchesthe delivery address of the delivery order pertaining to the trackingnumber. Upon successful verification of the recipient and the trackingnumber the seller would continue the process of accepting deliveryinstructions otherwise it would terminate the process.

If the process of accepting delivery instructions continues, the sellerwould verify the delivery instructions and the lock serial number. Ifthe delivery instructions are not blank and if the lock serial number isalso not blank, then the seller would notify the recipient that the lockserial number must be blank when the delivery instructions is not blank,and the seller would terminate the process of accepting deliveryinstructions. If the process of accepting delivery instructionscontinues and if the delivery instructions is not blank, then the sellerwould save the delivery instructions, end the process of acceptingdelivery instructions and would print the delivery instructions on theshipping label pertaining to the tracking number.

If the process of accepting delivery instructions continues and if theseller is registered with a service provider (P) and the seller isauthorized to submit an authcode request thru an API, then the sellerwould continue the process of accepting delivery instructions otherwisethe seller would terminate the process of accepting deliveryinstructions.

If the process of accepting delivery instructions continues, then theseller would submit the authcode request based on the API specificationas shown in FIG. 42-A and the submitted authcode request would beprocessed by the service provider (P) as explained in Authcode APIProcess under API Gateway.

Upon receipt of a response to an authcode request, the merchant (M) orthe goods carrier (G) would save the values of variables received in theresponse namely RequestorType, RequestorId, RequestorSubid, ReturnCode,SuccessMsg, ErrorMsg, TrackingNumber, LockSerialNumber, Latitude,Longitude, DroneYN, TruckYN and ManualYN and start a validation process.If the seller was a merchant (M) then the merchant (M) would verify thatthe RequestorType is ‘M’, the RequestorId is their merchant id and theRequestorSubId is their location id. If the seller was a goods carrier(G) then the goods carrier (G) would verify that the RequestorType is‘G’, the RequestorId is their goods carrier id and the RequestorSubId istheir location id. Then the seller would verify that the TrackingNumberis the same tracking number as the seller submitted in the authcoderequest. If the verification is successful, then the seller woulddetermine whether the request was successful or not based on theReturnCode. If the ReturnCode is ‘1’, then the request is successful,and the seller would print the text received in SuccessMsg on theshipping label and would fill in the delivery instructions check box toindicate that delivery instructions has already been printed and wouldnot disclose the content of the SuccessMsg to the buyer, because it maycontain authcode to open the locker.

If the ReturnCode is not ‘1’ then the request is not successful, and theseller would disclose the ErrorMsg to the buyer and will not print thetext in the shipping label. A sample of a shipping label with aSuccessMsg printed on the label is shown in FIG. 46.

The service provider would respond with an error or success messagebased on the validation process and the format of error or successmessage would be based on the schema 42-R as shown in FIG. 42-R andwould be in the same format of the authcode request message. An examplein xml format 42-R as shown in FIG. 42-R where if the value ofReturnCode is ‘1’, then the request is successful and if the ReturnCodeis anything other than then the request is not successful.

If the recipient decided to print special instructions on the shippinglabel but the recipient was not able to print special instructions. therecipient decided to use a networked locker and the recipient has postedinstructions near the networked locker on how to determine a one-timedefault authorization code based on the tracking number, then therecipient would add the one-time default authorization code specific forthe tracking number in the authcode database 44-10 using the serviceprovided forms 38-L, 38-S and 38-D as shown in FIGS. 38-L, 38-S and 38-Drespectively.

When a package pick-up is requested, the entity requesting the packagepick up with a goods carrier (G) would provide the information about thelocation of the entity requesting the package pick up. The entityinitiating the package pick up with a goods carrier (G) would bereferred as shipper, the goods carrier (G) participating in the packagepick up would be referred as goods carrier. The shipper must select alocker and optionally a bin number to leave the package where thepackage will fit in the locker based on the package size and on thelocker size and a goods carrier (G) for the goods carrier to pick up thepackage.

If the goods carrier (G) is registered with the same service provider(P) as the shipper is registered with and if the registered goodscarrier (G) also accepts the package pick up request through authcodeinformation forms 38-L, 38-S and 38-D as shown in FIGS. 38-L, 38-S and38-D respectively provided by service provider (P), then the goodscarrier (G) can accept the package pick up request from the shippersthrough the authcode information forms. In order, for the shipper toknow whether the goods carrier (G) has opted to accept package pickuprequest from service provider (P) or not, the shipper would use the form40-L and 40-D provided by the service provider (P) as shown in FIGS.40-L and 40-D respectively.

If the goods carrier (G) is registered with the same service provider(P) as the shipper is registered with and if the registered goodscarrier (G) can also submit authentication request to the serviceprovider (P) thru an authentication API as shown in 43-A in FIG. 43-Aand receive a response from the service provider (P) as shown in 43-R inFIG. 43-R, then the shipper need not provide the tracking number to thegoods carrier (G) when the shipper is requesting for a package pick up.

In order, for the shipper to know whether the goods carrier (G) hasopted to submit authentication API or not, the shipper would use theform 40-L and 40-D provided by the service provider (P) as shown inFIGS. 40-L and 40-D.

The pickup request process would start with the shipper selecting alocker based on package size and the locker size. If the shipper is ableto select a locker that would fit the package, then pick up requestprocess will continue, otherwise it will terminate.

If the pickup request process continues and if the selected locker is astandalone locker, the goods carrier (G) is registered with the sameservice provider (P) as the shipper is registered with and the goodscarrier (G) can also submit authentication API then the shipper wouldmanually program the lock controlling the front door of the selectedlocker with a random code, save the random code as one-time authcode forfuture use.

If the pickup request process continues and a one-time authcode forfuture use has not been saved and if the selected locker is a standalonelocker then the shipper would manually program the lock controlling thefront door of the selected locker with default authorization code wherethe default authorization code is based on the tracking number and apre-determined pattern posted near the locker, save the defaultauthorization code as one-time authcode for future use.

If the pickup request process continues and a one-time authcode forfuture use has not been saved and if the selected locker is a networkedlocker, the goods carrier (G) is registered with the same serviceprovider (P) as the shipper is registered with and the goods carrier (G)can also submit authentication API then save a blank value as one-timeauthcode for future use.

If the pickup request process continues and a one-time authcode forfuture use has not been saved and if the selected locker is a networkedlocker then the shipper would determine default authorization code wherethe default authorization code is based on the tracking number and apre-determined pattern posted near the locker, save the defaultauthorization code as one-time authcode for future use.

If the pickup request process continues and a one-time authcode forfuture use has been saved, then the shipper would add authcodeinformation into authcode database 44-12 using the authorizationinformation forms 38-L, 38-S and 38-D provided by service provider (P)and as shown in FIG. 38-L, 38-S AND 38-D. If the, goods carrier (G) hasaccepted the package pick up request through the authcode informationforms then the pickup request process will end.

If the pickup request process continues and a one-time authcode forfuture use has been saved, then the shipper would request the goodscarrier (G) for a package pick up. If the one-time authcode saved forfuture use is same as default authorization code for the trackingnumber, then the shipper would also provide the tracking number to thegoods carrier (G).

Once a delivery or pickup order has been initiated, the process ofdelivering or picking up the package begins. In case of delivery, themerchant (M) would hand over the packages to the goods carrier (G) andif the shipping label of the package to be delivered does not have anyspecial delivery instructions printed on the shipping label then theshipper might use authcode API to print any special deliveryinstructions.

Before initiating the process of delivering or picking up goods,however, the goods carrier (G) must schedule and commit the resourcesfor a package delivery or pick up. In order to schedule and commit theresources, the goods carrier (G) has to determine the type of theresource to be used for each the package delivery or pick up. Ingeneral, the available types of services for goods carriers (G) aremanual, drone and truck where the available types of services are notlimited to only manual, drone and truck. The cost associated in eachtype of resource for delivering or picking up packages could varyconsiderably and also the level of service provided under each type ofservice also could vary considerably. For example, delivering andpicking up a few packages at a time, the best type of service would bedrone, if a recipient's locker can accept drone deliveries and pickups.At the same time the size and weight of package may restrict the use ofdrones.

In any event, in order for the goods carrier (G) to determine the typeof service to be used, for each package, the goods carrier (G) could useauthcode request API using an accesstype ‘I’. Also, in case of drone ortruck delivery, the goods carrier (G) might want the exact location ofthe locker rather than the general location of the locker owner. Byusing the authcode request API, the goods carrier (G) could determinethe best type of service for each package to be delivered and picked up,lockserialnumber, lockerlatitude and lockerlongitude. If a specific typeof service cannot be determined, then the goods carrier (G) can use adefault type of service where the default type of service may vary fromone goods carrier (G) to another and in general the default type ofservice could be manual.

Once the type of service for delivery and pick up packages have beendetermined then the delivery and pick up packages that are marked to usemanual service would be handed over to delivery persons, the deliveryand pick up packages that are marked to use done service would be loadedinto drones and the delivery and pick up packages that are marked to usetruck service would be loaded into trucks where the trucks can be driverdriven or driver less.

The delivery person could use any means such as by foot or by vehiclessuch as delivery trucks to locations where the packages have to bedelivered or to be picked up manually. The legal resident of packagedelivery or pick up location would have installed locker as shown inFIGS. 11 thru 14 and/or a lock to a door to a common area as shown inFIG. 16 and/or a lock to a fence gate as shown in FIG. 17 or a lock to agarage door as shown in FIG. 18 where the locker or door to common areaor fence gate or garage door will be referred generally as locker whereat least one the locker would be configured to manual access. Uponarriving at a package delivery or pick up location, the delivery personwould follow directions posted at the delivery or pick up location to aspecific locker based on the directions printed on the shipping label.If no directions are printed on the shipping label, then the deliveryperson can follow the directions posted at the delivery or pick uplocation to locate a locker. If no directions are printed on theshipping label and no directions are posted at the delivery or pick uplocation, then the delivery person would go to the main entrance or thefront door of the location to locate a locker or get directions to alocker. Once a locker has been located the delivery person woulddetermine on how to open the locker to leave the packages to bedelivered or to pick up packages for shipping.

If the delivery person does not have a mobile device with an applicationloaded from the goods carrier (G) or from service provider (P) then thedelivery person would locate a pre-determined pattern posted near thelocker to determine a default authorization code based on the trackingnumber. If such a pre-determined pattern is posted and the deliveryperson is able to locate such a pre-determined pattern, then thedelivery person would determine a default authorization code based onthe tracking number and the pre-determined pattern, enter the defaultauthorization code in the key pad attached to the locker and press theNon-Administrator UNLOCK button attached to the locker to unlock thelocker. The Non-Administrator UNLOCK button may be labelled as ‘UNLOCK’and will be accessible to delivery persons.

When the Non-Administrator UNLOCK button is pressed the controllerattached to the Non-Administrator UNLOCK button would communicate withthe service provider through controller gateway and receive a response.Upon receiving a request from the controller, the service provider (P)would process the request as explained in Controller Gateway section andreturn a response.

If the controller receives an approval response, then the controllerwould unlock the lock attached to the controller and would indicate theapproval response to the delivery man through the LED indicator attachedto the controller by blinking the LED indicator in green color.

If the controller receives a decline response, then the controller wouldindicate the decline response to the delivery man through the LEDindicator attached to the controller by blinking the LED indicator inred color.

If the delivery person is able to unlock the locker then the deliveryperson would pick up the package for shipping and leave the package tobe delivered inside the locker. If the delivery person is able to unlockthe locker and if the tracking number is for a package delivery with asignature and if the recipient did not leave a delivery request with asignature, then the delivery person may not leave the package inside thelocker. If the delivery person is unable to unlock the locker or if sucha pre-determined pattern is not posted near the locker or the deliveryperson is unable to locate such a pre-determined pattern near thelocker, then the delivery person would follow the directions from thegoods carrier (G) which direction might be to leave the delivery packagenear the locker or take the delivery package back. If the deliveryperson is unable to unlock the locker, then in case of a package pick upthe delivery person would leave without picking up the package forshipping.

If the delivery person has a mobile device with an application loadedfrom the goods carrier (G) or from service provider (P) then thedelivery person would use the mobile application to scan or enter atracking number and capture the identification data from the locker byscanning a QR Code displayed on the locker or by placing the mobiledevice near the locker. In case of package pick up the delivery personmay not have a tracking number and may not scan or enter a trackingnumber. If the delivery person does not scan or enter a tracking number,then the mobile application would use a blank for tracking number. Oncethe mobile application receives the tracking number and captures theidentification data from the locker, the mobile application wouldcommunicate with a server as per the instructions in the mobileapplication program. The server could be the goods carrier (G) server,if the mobile application was provided by the goods carrier (G) or theserver could be service provider's (P) server if the mobile applicationwas provided by the service provider (P).

If the mobile application is programmed to communicate with a goodscarrier (G) server then the mobile application would communicate withthe goods carrier (G) server where the goods carrier server (G) wouldcommunicate with the service provider's (P) server using theauthentication API based on the specifications provided by the serviceprovider (P) as shown in FIG. 43-A to request for advance authenticationfor the locker and receive a success or error message from the serviceprovider (P) as shown in FIG. 43-R where the success or error messagewould be forwarded to the mobile application by the goods carrier (G).The service provider (P) would process the authentication request asexplained in Authentication API Process under API Gateway.

If the mobile application is programmed to communicate with serviceprovider (P) server then the mobile application would communicate withthe service provider (P) server with a request for advanceauthentication for the locker and receive a success or error messagefrom the service provider (P). The service provider (P) would processthe mobile application request as explained in Mobile App Gateway.

Upon receiving a success or error response, the mobile application woulddisplay the same on the mobile device so that the delivery person canfollow the directions. If the delivery person receives an error messageand if the error message re-directs the delivery person to a differentlocker that can be used for the delivery or pick up, then the deliveryperson would locate the different locker. The delivery person uponlocating the different locker would start the process of using themobile application again to get a tracking number and to capture theidentification data of the locker and follow the instructions receivedin response.

If a manual entry of a code in the key pad is required, then the codewill be included in the success message. If recipient's signature isrequired for a package delivery then the success message would alsoinclude recipient's signature where the recipient's signature wasprovided by the recipient when the recipient added the authorizationrequest using service provider (P) provided forms 38-L, 38-S and 38-D.

If the tracking number, used in the advanced authentication request,required recipient's signature as indicated by the goods carrier (G),then delivery person would confirm that the recipient's signature isincluded in the success message.

If the success message did not include the recipient's signature wherethe signature was required, then the delivery person would not press theNon-Administrator UNLOCK button to unlock the locker.

In case of package pick up, if the package has to be picked up from aspecific bin within the locker, then the success message would alsoinclude the bin number.

When the Non-Administrator UNLOCK button is pressed the controllerattached to the Non-Administrator UNLOCK button would communicate withthe service provider (P) through controller gateway and receive aresponse. Upon receiving a request from the controller, the serviceprovider (P) would process the request as explained in ControllerGateway section and return a response.

If the controller receives an approval response, then the controllerwould unlock the lock attached to the controller and would indicate theapproval response to the delivery man through the LED indicator attachedto the controller by blinking the LED indicator in green color.

If the controller receives a decline response, then the controller wouldindicate the decline response to the delivery man through the LEDindicator attached to the controller by blinking the LED indicator inred color.

If the delivery person has unlocked the locker then the controller maybe programmed to lock itself after a brief period to time say forexample in 30 seconds. The delivery person can also lock the locker bypressing the Non-Administrator LOCK button if the Non-Administrator LOCKbutton is accessible to the delivery person. Upon receiving a requestfrom the controller, the service provider (P) would process the requestas explained in Controller Gateway section and return a response.

If the controller receives an approval response, then the controllerwould Lock the lock attached to the controller and would indicate theapproval response to the delivery man through the LED indicator attachedto the controller by blinking the LED indicator in green color.

If the controller receives a decline response, then the controller wouldindicate the decline response to the delivery man through the LEDindicator attached to the controller by blinking the LED indicator inred color.

Before leaving the goods carrier (G) package distribution center, thedrone (D) would communicate with the goods carrier (G) using authcodeAPI using an inquire option to get LockSearialNumber, LockerLatitude,LockerLongitude and DroneYN information. If the information is notavailable, then the drone (D) would communicate with the goods carrier(G) using authcode API using an add option for drone access to getLockSearialNumber, LockerLatitude, LockerLongitude and DroneYNinformation. If the information is available and if the value forDroneYN is ‘Y’ for each TrackingNumber then the drone (D) would acceptthose requests to make a delivery or to pick up package using drone. TheLockSearialNumber is same as the front side lock serial number of thelocker. Upon the drone (D), arriving at a specific locker location, thedrone (D) would start the process of delivering the packages to thespecific locker and/or picking up the packages from the specific locker.The various parts of the drone 4-11 and the drone locker 47-2 are shownin FIG. 47. Upon the drone (D) 47-11 arriving at a specific lockerlocation, the drone (D) 47-11 would land at the specific locker locationsuch a way that the packages to be delivered can be delivered into thelocker and packages to be picked up can be picked up from the locker. Inorder for the drones (D) 47-11 to land correctly above the front door ofthe locker that consist of a longer portion 47-4 and a shorter portion47-5 with a pivot 47-3 separating them, the locker may have one or morebeacons installed on the locker and the drone (D) may have one or moreBluetooth readers installed on the drone.

The drone (D) would position itself where all 4 Bluetooth readers 47-14,47-15, 47-16 and 47-17 installed at the four corners of the drone (D)are collectively at the middle of all 4 beacons 47-7, 47-8, 47-9 and47-10 installed at the four corners of the front side of the locker orall 4 beacons 47-7, 47-8, 47-9 and 47-10 installed at the four cornersof the front side of the locker are collectively at the middle of all 4Bluetooth readers 47-14, 47-15, 47-16 and 47-17 installed at the fourcorners of the drone (D) without knocking over the locker. In order, toavoid knocking over the locker and also to measure the distance betweenthe drone (D) and the locker, the 4 Bluetooth readers 47-14, 47-15,47-16 and 47-17 installed at the four corners of the drone (D) wouldalso measure the strength of signals received from the 4 beaconsinstalled 47-7, 47-8, 47-9 and 47-10 at the four corners of the frontside of the lockers. Once the drone (D) 47-11 reaches to the closestpossible position from the locker 47-2 and also the drone (D) 47-11positions itself in the center of the locker 47-2 the drone (D) wouldmove up, down, left or right to make the Bluetooth reader 47-16installed at the south east corner of the drone (D) 47-11 to be at theclosest possible position to the beacon 47-9 installed at the south eastcorner of the front side of the locker that transmits the front sidelock serial number plus a text of ‘BR’. Once the drone (D) 47-11positions itself on top of the locker 47-2, the drone (D) 47-11 wouldmove higher to give enough space for the longer portion 47-4 to open.Once the drone (D) 47-11 finds the locker and position itself above thelocker 47-2 as required, the delivery and/or pick up process wouldcontinue, otherwise it would terminate.

If the delivery and/or pick up process continues, then the drone wouldcommunicate with the goods carrier (G) and provide LockSerialNumber andTrackingNumber and request for an advance authentication. The goodscarrier (G) would than submit an authentication request usingauthentication API as shown in FIG. 43-A and receive a response from theservice provider (P) as shown in FIG. 43-R. The goods carrier (G) wouldthen forward the response to the drone. If the response is a successfulresponse, then the response would also include a recipient's signature,if a signature is required for any packages to be delivered. If thedrone receives a successful response, then the delivery and/or pick upprocess will continue, otherwise it will terminate.

If the delivery and/or pick up process continues, then the drone wouldpress down the retractable or fixed plunger 47-13, so that the plungertip 47-20 would press the non-administrator UNLOCK switch 47-6 downwhich would trigger the controller connected to the non-administratorUNLOCK switch 47-6 to send the request to the service provider (P) andreceive a response as explained in Controller Gateway section. If theresponse is successful then the longer portion of front door on thelocker would open and the delivery and/or pick up process will continue,otherwise it will terminate.

If the delivery and/or pick up process continues and if a package has tobe delivered, then the drone would select the package from the payloadarea and drop it inside the drone locker. If the delivery and/or pick upprocess continues and if a package has to be picked up, then the dronewould pick up the package from the locker and place inside the payloadarea. In case of package pick up, if the package has to be picked upfrom a specific bin, then the drone would pick up the package from thespecified bin inside the drone locker.

If the delivery and/or pick up process continues, then the drone wouldpick up any packages that are to be picked up from the locker. If thelocker has more than one bin, then each bin would have a beacon and thedrone would pick up the package, if any, from the bin. If the locker hasonly one bin, then the drone would pick up the package from the singlebin. Then the drone would deliver the packages to be delivered, if any.If the drone is capable of handling more than one delivery package, thenthe drone would use a vertical or horizontal endless chain with hangingbins. Then the drone would select the package to be delivered from thehanging bins. If the drone is unable to pick up any package to be pickedup and/or unable to deliver any package to be delivered, then the dronewould terminate the delivery and/or pick up process, otherwise the dronewould end the delivery and/or pick up process.

If the delivery and/or pick up process is terminated, then the dronewould notify the goods carrier (G). If the delivery and/or pick upprocess is terminated or ended, the drone would leave the lockerlocation.

Before leaving the goods carrier (G) package distribution center thetruck (T) would communicate with the goods carrier (G) using authcodeAPI using an inquire option to get LockSearialNumber, LockerLatitude,LockerLongitude and TruckYN information. If the information is notavailable or if the value for TruckYN is not ‘Y’ for any TrackingNumberthen the truck (T) would accept those requests to make a delivery or topick up package. The LockSearialNumber is same as the front side lockserial number of the locker.

Upon the truck (T), arriving at a specific locker location, the truck(T), would start the process of delivering the packages to the specificlocker and/or picking up the packages from the specific locker. Thevarious parts of the truck 4-11 and the curbside locker 47-2 are shownin FIG. 47. Upon the truck (T), 47-11 arriving at a specific curbsidelocker location, the truck (T), 48-11 would land at the specific lockerlocation such a way that the packages to be delivered can be deliveredinto the curbside locker and packages to be picked up can be picked upfrom the curbside locker. In order for the trucks (T), 48-11 to parksuch a way that the opening in the truck, for packages passage, face thefront door of the curbside locker that consist of a longer portion 48-4and a shorter portion 48-5 with a pivot 48-3 separating them, thecurbside locker may have one or more beacons installed on the curbsidelocker and the truck (T), may have one or more Bluetooth readersinstalled on the truck opening.

The truck (T), would position itself where all 4 Bluetooth readers48-14, 48-15, 48-16 and 48-17 installed at the four corners of theopening of the package passage are collectively at the middle of all 4beacons 48-7, 48-8, 48-9 and 48-10 installed at the four corners of thefront side of the curbside locker or all 4 beacons 48-7, 48-8, 48-9 and48-10 installed at the four corners of the front side of the curbsidelocker are collectively at the middle of all 4 Bluetooth readers 48-14,48-15, 48-16 and 48-17 installed at the four corners of the truckwithout knocking over the locker. In order to avoid knocking over thelocker and also to measure the distance between the truck (T), and thelocker, the 4 Bluetooth readers 48-14, 48-15, 48-16 and 48-17 installedat the four corners of the truck (T) opening for package passage wouldalso measure the strength of signals received from the 4 beaconsinstalled 48-7, 48-8, 48-9 and 48-10 at the four corners of the frontside of the curbside lockers. Once the truck (T), 47-11 reaches to theclosest possible position from the curbside locker 48-2 and also thetruck (T), 48-11 positions itself in the center of the curbside locker48-2 the truck (T), would move to make the Bluetooth reader 48-16installed at the bottom left corner of the truck (T), 48-11 to be at theclosest possible position to the beacon 48-9 installed at the bottomleft corner of the front side of the curbside locker that transmits thefront side lock serial number plus a text of ‘BL’. Once the truck (T),48-11 positions itself in front of the curbside locker 48-2, the truck(T), 48-11 would move give enough space for the longer portion 47-4 toopen. Once the truck (T), 48-11 finds the curbside locker and positionitself in front of the curbside locker 48-2 as required, the deliveryand/or pick up process would continue, otherwise it would terminate.

If the delivery and/or pick up process continues, then the truck (T)would communicate with the goods carrier (G) and provideLockSerialNumber and TrackingNumber and request for an advanceauthentication. The goods carrier (G) would than submit anauthentication request using authentication API as shown in FIG. 43-Aand receive a response from the service provider (P) as shown in FIG.43-R. The goods carrier (G) would then forward the response to thedrone. If the response is a successful response, then the response wouldalso include a recipient's signature, if a signature is required for anypackages to be delivered. If the truck (T) receives a successfulresponse, then the delivery and/or pick up process will continue,otherwise it will terminate.

If the delivery and/or pick up process continues, then the truck (T)would push the retractable plunger 48-13, so that the plunger tip 48-20would push the non-administrator UNLOCK switch 48-6 inside which wouldtrigger the controller connected to the non-administrator UNLOCK switch48-6 to send the request to the service provider (P) and receive aresponse as explained in Controller Gateway section. If the response issuccessful then the longer portion of front door on the locker wouldopen and the delivery and/or pick up process will continue, otherwise itwill terminate.

If the delivery and/or pick up process continues and if a package has tobe delivered, then the drone would select the package from the payloadarea and drop it inside the curbside locker. If the delivery and/or pickup process continues and if a package has to be picked up, then thetruck (T) would pick up the package from the curbside locker and placeinside the payload area. In case of package pick up, if the package hasto be picked up from a specific bin, then the truck (T) would pick upthe package from a specified bin inside the curb side locker.

If the delivery and/or pick up process continues, then the truck wouldpick up any packages that are to be picked up from the curbside locker.If the curbside locker has more than one bin, then each bin would have abeacon and the truck (T) would pick up the package, if any, from aparticular bin. If the curbside locker has only one bin, then the dronewould pick up the package from the single bin. Then the truck (T) woulddeliver the packages to be delivered, if any. If the drone is unable topick up any package to be picked up and/or unable to deliver any packageto be delivered, then the truck (T) would terminate the delivery and/orpick up process, otherwise the truck (T) would end the delivery and/orpick up process.

If the delivery and/or pick up process is terminated, then the truck (T)would notify the goods carrier (G). If the delivery and/or pick upprocess is terminated or ended, the truck (T) would leave the curbsidelocker location.

Controller Gateway:

Service provider (P) can accept request from 4 distinctly differentbuttons namely Non-Administrator UNLOCK, Non-Administrator LOCK,Administrator UNLOCK and Administrator LOCK. The service provider (P),at a minimum, would receive the lockserialnumber, key pad entry and theidentification of the button that initiated the request from acontroller. The key pad entry may be blank or a text. If the requestorentered a value in the key pad then the key pad entry will be the textthat was entered into the key pad, otherwise it will be blank. The keypad may support only numbers with back and cancel buttons or it maysupport alpha numeric characters with back and cancel buttons. So, thekey pad entry may be blank or numbers or text. The value oridentification of button would depend on the button that initiated therequest. If Non-Administrator UNLOCK button initiated the request, thenthe value of identification of the button would be ‘N’. IfNon-Administrator LOCK button initiated the request, then the value ofidentification of the button would be ‘O’. If Administrator UNLOCKbutton initiated the request, then the value of identification of thebutton would be ‘U’. If Administrator LOCK button initiated the request,then the value of identification of the button would be ‘L’. So, if thevalue of the identification of button is ‘N’ or ‘O’ or ‘U’ or ‘L’, thenthe service provider (P) would start a verification process, otherwisethe service provider (P) would respond with an error message.

If a verification process is started, the service provider (P) wouldretrieve the most recent row of information from locker database 44-11by using the lock serial number received from the controller associatedwith the valid request by matching the lock serial number with frontside lock serial number or by matching the lock serial number with backside lock serial number of the locker database 44-11. If one row ofinformation is retrieved and if the value of status in the retrieved rowis ‘A’, then the verification process will continue, otherwise it willterminate.

If the verification process continues then the service provider (P)would verify the owner of the locker determined by the one row ofinformation received from the locker database 44-11. If the owner id inthe one row of information received from the locker database 44-11consists 3 segments separated by ‘-’ and the value in the first segmentis ‘M’, then the service provider (P) would use merchant database 44-9using the value in the second segment as merchant id and the value inthe third segment as location id, otherwise the service provider woulduse the owner database 44-8 using the value the owner id in the one rowof information received from the locker database 44-11. If the serviceprovider is using merchant database 44-9, if most recent one row ofinformation is received from the merchant database 44-9 and if the valueof status in the most recent one row of information received from themerchant database 44-9 is ‘A’ then the locker will be store pickuplocker and the verification process will continue, otherwise it willterminate. If the service provider is using owner database 44-8, if themost recent one row of information is received from the owner database44-8 and if the value of status in the most recent one row ofinformation received from the owner database 44-8 is ‘A’ then the lockerwill be a consumer locker and the verification process will continue,otherwise it will terminate.

If the verification process continues then the service provider (P)would verify the locker side. If the lock serial number received fromthe controller matched with back side lock serial number in the one rowof information retrieved from locker database 44-11 and if the number ofdoors in the one row of information retrieved from locker database 44-11is not 2 then the verification process will terminate.

If the verification process is terminated, then the service provider (P)would respond with a decline response so that the controller thatinitiated the request would receive the response.

If the verification process continues and if the lock serial numberreceived from the controller matched with back side lock serial numberin the one row of information retrieved from locker database 44-11 thenlock is back side lock, otherwise it is front side lock.

If the verification process continues and the locker owner type (storepickup locker or consumer locker) and the side of the lock (back orfront) in the locker are established the service provider (P) wouldselect a specific procedure to be executed based on the value of theidentification of button received from the controller and the lockerowner type.

If the value of the identification of button is ‘N’ and if the lockerowner type is store pickup locker then the service provider (P) wouldexecute Store Pickup Non-Administrator UNLOCK procedure. If the value ofthe identification of button is ‘N’ and if the locker owner type isconsumer locker then the service provider (P) would execute ConsumerNon-Administrator UNLOCK procedure.

If the value of the identification of button is ‘O’ and if the lockerowner type is store pickup locker then the service provider (P) wouldexecute Store Pickup Non-Administrator LOCK procedure. If the value ofthe identification of button is ‘O’ and if the locker owner type isstore consumer locker then the service provider (P) would executeConsumer Non-Administrator LOCK procedure.

If the value of the identification of button ‘U’ and if the locker ownertype is store pickup locker then the service provider (P) would executeStore Pickup Administrator UNLOCK procedure. If the value of theidentification of button ‘U’ and if the locker owner type is consumerlocker then the service provider (P) would execute ConsumerAdministrator UNLOCK procedure.

If the value of the identification of button is ‘L’ and if the lockerowner type is store pickup locker then the service provider (P) wouldexecute Store Pickup Administrator LOCK procedure. If the value of theidentification of button is ‘L’ and if the locker owner type is consumerlocker then the service provider (P) would execute ConsumerAdministrator LOCK procedure.

Store Pickup Non-Administrator UNLOCK:

For store pick-up non-administrators (buyers) unlock is available onlyfrom waiting area (53-3). So, if the lock is front side lock and if thevalue of location in the one row of information retrieved from lockerdatabase 44-11 is ‘W’ or if the lock is back side lock and if the valueof location in the one row of information retrieved from locker database44-11 is ‘B’ then the verification process will continue, otherwise itwill terminate.

If the verification process continues, then the service provider (P)would retrieve the most recent rows of information for each order fromstore pickup database 44-15 where the merchant id is same as secondsegment of owner id, location id is same as third segment of owner id,locker number is same as locker number in the one row of informationretrieved from locker database 44-11, locker side is same as locker sidein the one row of information retrieved from locker database 44-11 andauthcode status is ‘A’ to create the final store pickup data.

If the value of the key pad entry received from the controller is notblank, then the service provider (P) would remove all the rows from keypad entry where the value of authcode in the final store pickup data isnot same as the key pad entry received from the controller.

If the value of the key pad entry received from the controller is blank,then the service provider (P) would remove all the rows from key padentry where the value of authenticated in the final store pickup data isnot ‘Y’.

If the number of rows in the final store pickup data is more than 0 thenthe verification process will continue, otherwise it will terminate.

If the verification process continues then the service provider (P)would update the store pickup database 44-15 with a value of ‘N’ forauthenticated and with a value of ‘U’ for authcode status where themerchant id, location id, order number and maintenance sequence numberin the store pickup database 44-15 are same as merchant id, location id,order number and maintenance sequence number in the final store pickupdata.

If the verification process continues and if the update store pickupdatabase 44-15 is not successful, then the service provider (P) wouldterminate the verification process.

If the verification process ends without being terminated, then theservice provider (P) would respond with an approve response so that thecontroller that initiated the request would receive the response. If theverification process is terminated, then the service provider (P) wouldrespond with a decline response so that the controller that initiatedthe request would receive the response.

Consumer Non-Administrator UNLOCK:

For consumer non-administrators unlock is available only from frontside. So, if the lock is not front side lock then the service provider(P) will terminate verification process.

If the verification process continues, if the value of the key pad entryreceived from the controller is not blank, then the service provider (P)would retrieve the most recent row of information from authcode database44-12 by matching owner id, locker number and locker side from authcodedatabase 44-12 with owner id, locker number, and locker side from theone row of information retrieved from locker database 44-11 and authcodefrom authcode database 44-12 matching with the value of key pad entryreceived from the controller.

If the verification process continues, if the value of the key pad entryreceived from the controller is not blank, if one row of information isretrieved from authcode database 44-12 and if the authcode status in theone row of information retrieved from authcode database 44-12 is not‘A’, then the service provider (P) would terminate the verificationprocess. If the verification process continues, if the value of the keypad entry received from the controller is not blank and if one row ofinformation is not retrieved from authcode database 44-12, then theservice provider (P) would terminate the verification process. If theverification process continues, if the value of the key pad entryreceived from the controller is not blank, if one row of information isretrieved from authcode database 44-12 and if the authcode status in theone row of information retrieved is ‘A’ then the verification processwill end.

If the verification process continues and if the value of the key padentry received from the controller is blank, then the service provider(P) would retrieve the most recent row of information fromauthentication database 44-13 by matching owner id, locker number,locker side with owner id, locker number, and locker side from the onerow of information retrieved from locker database 44-11 and theauthentication status from authentication database 44-13 is ‘A’. If theverification process continues and if one row of information isretrieved from authentication database 44-13 then the verificationprocess will end otherwise it will terminate.

If the verification process ends without being terminated and one row ofinformation was retrieved from authcode database 44-12 during theverification process, then the service provider (P) would update theauthcode database 44-12 with a value of ‘U’ for authcode status for thesame row as the one row of information retrieved from the authcodedatabase 44-12 if usage type in the one row of information retrievedfrom the authcode database 44-12 is ‘S’. If the verification processends without being terminated, one row of information was retrieved fromauthcode database 44-12 during the verification process and if theupdate of the authcode database 44-12 is not successful, then theservice provider would terminate the verification process.

If the verification process ends without being terminated and one row ofinformation was retrieved from authentication database 44-13 during theverification process, then the service provider (P) would update theauthentication database 44-13 with a value of ‘U’ for authenticationstatus for the same row as the one row of information retrieved from theauthentication database 44-13. If the verification process ends withoutbeing terminated, one row of information was retrieved fromauthentication database 44-13 during the verification process and if theupdate of the authentication database 44-13 is not successful, then theservice provider would terminate the verification process.

If the verification process ends without being terminated, then theservice provider (P) would respond with an approve response so that thecontroller that initiated the request would receive the response. If theverification process is terminated, then the service provider (P) wouldrespond with a decline response so that the controller that initiatedthe request would receive the response.

Store Pickup Non-Administrator LOCK:

For store pick-up non-administrators (buyers) lock is available onlyfrom drive-thru lane (53-12). So, if the lock is front side lock and ifthe value of location in the one row of information retrieved fromlocker database 44-11 is ‘L’ or ‘B’ then the verification process willcontinue, otherwise it will terminate.

If the verification process continues, then the service provider (P)would retrieve the most recent rows of information for each order fromstore pickup database 44-15 where the merchant id is same as secondsegment of owner id, location id is same as third segment of owner id,locker number is same as locker number in the one row of informationretrieved from locker database 44-11, locker side is same as locker sidein the one row of information retrieved from locker database 44-11 andauthcode status is ‘A’ to create the final store pickup data.

If the value of the key pad entry received from the controller is notblank, then the service provider (P) would remove all the rows from keypad entry where the value of authcode in the final store pickup data isnot same as the key pad entry received from the controller.

If the value of the key pad entry received from the controller is blank,then the service provider (P) would remove all the rows from key padentry where the value of authenticated in the final store pickup data isnot ‘Y’.

If the number of rows in the final store pickup data is more than 0 thenthe verification process will continue, otherwise it will terminate.

If the verification process continues then the service provider (P)would update the store pickup database 44-15 with a value of ‘N’ forauthenticated and with a value of ‘U’ for authcode status where themerchant id, location id, order number and maintenance sequence numberin the store pickup database 44-15 are same as merchant id, location id,order number and maintenance sequence number in the final store pickupdata.

If the verification process continues and if the update store pickupdatabase 44-15 is not successful, then the service provider (P) wouldterminate the verification process.

If the verification process ends without being terminated, then theservice provider (P) would respond with an approve response so that thecontroller that initiated the request would receive the response. If theverification process is terminated, then the service provider (P) wouldrespond with a decline response so that the controller that initiatedthe request would receive the response.

Consumer Non-Administrator LOCK:

For consumer non-administrators lock is available only from front side.So, if the lock is not front side lock then the service provider (P)will terminate verification process.

If the verification process continues and if the value of the key padentry received from the controller is not blank, then the verificationprocess will terminate.

If the verification process ends without being terminated, then theservice provider (P) would respond with an approve response so that thecontroller that initiated the request would receive the response. If theverification process is terminated, then the service provider (P) wouldrespond with a decline response so that the controller that initiatedthe request would receive the response.

Store Pickup Administrator UNLOCK:

For consumer administrators unlock is available from all sides.

If the verification process continues and if the value of admin switchrestricted in the one row of information received from the lockerdatabase 44-11 is ‘Y’ and if the value of the key pad entry receivedfrom the controller is blank, then the verification process will end.

If the verification process continues and if the value of admin switchrestricted in the one row of information received from the lockerdatabase 44-11 is ‘Y’ and if the value of the key pad entry receivedfrom the controller is not blank, then the verification process willterminate.

If the verification process continues and if the value of the key padentry received from the controller is same as the value of password inthe most recent row of information retrieved from owner database 44-8then the verification process will end.

If the verification process continues and if the value of the key padentry received from the controller is not blank and is not same as thevalue of password in the most recent row of information retrieved fromowner database 44-8 then the verification process will terminate.

If the verification process continues and if the value of the key padentry received from the controller is blank, then the service willcontinue, otherwise it will terminate.

If the verification process continues, then the service provider (P)would retrieve the most recent rows of information for each order fromstore pickup database 44-15 where the merchant id is same as secondsegment of owner id, location id is same as third segment of owner id,locker number is same as locker number in the one row of informationretrieved from locker database 44-11, locker side is same as locker sidein the one row of information retrieved from locker database 44-11 andauthenticated is ‘Y’. If the verification process continues and if onerow of information is retrieved from store pickup database 44-15 thenthe verification process will continue otherwise it will terminate. Ifthe verification process continues and if one row of information isretrieved from store pickup database 44-15 then the service provider (P)would update the store pickup database 44-15 with a value of ‘N’ forauthenticated where the merchant id, location id, order number andmaintenance sequence number in the store pickup database 44-15 are sameas merchant id, location id, order number and maintenance sequencenumber in the final store pickup data.

If the verification process ends without being terminated, then theservice provider (P) would respond with an approve response so that thecontroller that initiated the request would receive the response. If theverification process is terminated, then the service provider (P) wouldrespond with a decline response so that the controller that initiatedthe request would receive the response.

Consumer Administrator UNLOCK:

For consumer administrators unlock is available from all sides.

If the verification process continues and if the value of admin switchrestricted in the one row of information received from the lockerdatabase 44-11 is ‘Y’ and if the value of the key pad entry receivedfrom the controller is blank, then the verification process will end.

If the verification process continues and if the value of admin switchrestricted in the one row of information received from the lockerdatabase 44-11 is ‘Y’ and if the value of the key pad entry receivedfrom the controller is not blank, then the verification process willterminate.

If the verification process continues and if the value of the key padentry received from the controller is same as the value of password inthe most recent row of information retrieved from owner database 44-8then the verification process will end.

If the verification process continues and if the value of the key padentry received from the controller is not blank and is not same as thevalue of password in the most recent row of information retrieved fromowner database 44-8 then the verification process will terminate.

If the verification process continues and if the value of the key padentry received from the controller is blank, then the service willcontinue, otherwise it will terminate.

If the verification process continues the service provider (P) wouldretrieve the most recent row of information from authentication database44-13 by matching owner id, locker number, locker side fromauthentication database 44-13 with owner id, locker number, and lockerside from the one row of information retrieved from locker database44-11 and the authentication status from authentication database 44-13is ‘A’ and the requestor type from authentication database 44-13 is ‘O’.If the verification process continues and if one row of information isretrieved from authentication database 44-13 then the verificationprocess will continue otherwise it will terminate. If the verificationprocess continues and if one row of information is retrieved fromauthentication database 44-13 then the service provider (P) would setthe value of authentication status with ‘U’ in the authenticationdatabase 44-13 by matching owner id, locker number, locker side fromauthentication database 44-13 with owner id, locker number, and lockerside from the one row of information retrieved from locker database44-11 and the authentication status from authentication database 44-13is ‘A’ and the requestor type from authentication database 44-13 is ‘O’.

If the verification process ends without being terminated, then theservice provider (P) would respond with an approve response so that thecontroller that initiated the request would receive the response. If theverification process is terminated, then the service provider (P) wouldrespond with a decline response so that the controller that initiatedthe request would receive the response.

Store Pickup Administrator LOCK:

If the verification process continues and if the value of admin switchrestricted in the one row of information received from the lockerdatabase 44-11 is ‘Y’ and if the value of the key pad entry receivedfrom the controller.

If the verification process continues and if the value of admin switchrestricted in the one row of information received from the lockerdatabase 44-11 is ‘Y’ and if the value of the key pad entry receivedfrom the controller.

If the verification process continues and if the value of the key padentry received from the controller is same as the value of password inthe most recent row of information retrieved from owner database 44-8then the verification process will end.

If the verification process continues and if the value of the key padentry received from the controller is not blank and is not same as thevalue of password in the most recent row of information retrieved fromowner database 44-8 then the verification process will terminate.

If the verification process continues and if the value the key pad entryreceived from the controller is blank, then the verification processwill continue, otherwise it will terminate.

If the verification process continues, then the service provider (P)would retrieve the most recent rows of information for each order fromstore pickup database 44-15 where the merchant id is same as secondsegment of owner id, location id is same as third segment of owner id,locker number is same as locker number in the one row of informationretrieved from locker database 44-11, locker side is same as locker sidein the one row of information retrieved from locker database 44-11 andauthenticated is ‘Y’. If the verification process continues and if onerow of information is retrieved from store pickup database 44-15 thenthe verification process will continue otherwise it will terminate. Ifthe verification process continues and if one row of information isretrieved from store pickup database 44-15 then the service provider (P)would update the store pickup database 44-15 with a value of ‘N’ forauthenticated where the merchant id, location id, order number andmaintenance sequence number in the store pickup database 44-15 are sameas merchant id, location id, order number and maintenance sequencenumber in the final store pickup data.

If the verification process ends without being terminated, then theservice provider (P) would respond with an approve response so that thecontroller that initiated the request would receive the response. If theverification process is terminated, then the service provider (P) wouldrespond with a decline response so that the controller that initiatedthe request would receive the response.

Consumer Administrator LOCK:

If the verification process continues and if the value of admin switchrestricted in the one row of information received from the lockerdatabase 44-11 is ‘Y’ and if the value of the key pad entry receivedfrom the controller.

If the verification process continues and if the value of admin switchrestricted in the one row of information received from the lockerdatabase 44-11 is ‘Y’ and if the value of the key pad entry receivedfrom the controller.

If the verification process continues and if the value of the key padentry received from the controller is same as the value of password inthe most recent row of information retrieved from owner database 44-8then the verification process will end.

If the verification process continues and if the value of the key padentry received from the controller is not blank and is not same as thevalue of password in the most recent row of information retrieved fromowner database 44-8 then the verification process will terminate.

If the verification process continues and if the value of the key padentry received from the controller is blank, then the verificationprocess will continue, otherwise it will terminate.

If the verification process continues the service provider (P) wouldretrieve the most recent row of information from authentication database44-13 by matching owner id, locker number, locker side fromauthentication database 44-13 with owner id, locker number, and lockerside from the one row of information retrieved from locker database44-11 and the authentication status from authentication database 44-13is ‘A’ and the requestor type from authentication database 44-13 is ‘O’.If the verification process continues and if one row of information isretrieved from authentication database 44-13 then the verificationprocess will continue otherwise it will terminate. If the verificationprocess continues and if one row of information is retrieved fromauthentication database 44-13 then the service provider (P) would setthe value of authentication status with ‘U’ in the authenticationdatabase 44-13 by matching owner id, locker number, locker side fromauthentication database 44-13 with owner id, locker number, and lockerside from the one row of information retrieved from locker database44-11 and the authentication status from authentication database 44-13is ‘A’ and the requestor type from authentication database 44-13 is ‘O’.

If the verification process ends without being terminated, then theservice provider (P) would respond with an approve response so that thecontroller that initiated the request would receive the response. If theverification process is terminated, then the service provider (P) wouldrespond with a decline response so that the controller that initiatedthe request would receive the response.

API Gateway:

The merchants (M) and goods carriers (G) would post a request through anApplication Programming Interface for an authcode to the serviceprovider's server through a communication channel provided by theservice provider. This communication channel can be server to servercommunication between the merchants (M) or goods carriers (G) serverswith service provider's (P) server. The communication channel may be anurl and a sample of such url might be“https://www.mslwallet.com/authcode.cfm”. The content of the request foran authcode would be based on the specification for authcode request APIprovided by the service provider (P) to the merchants (M) and goodscarriers (G) and as shown in FIG. 42-A. The merchants (M) and goodscarriers (G) would receive a response as shown in FIG. 42-R. The detailsof authcode API is given below under Authocode API Process.

The merchants (M) and goods carriers (G) would post a request through anApplication Programming Interface to the service provider's serverthrough a communication channel provided by the service provider. Thiscommunication channel can be server to server communication between themerchants (M) or goods carriers (G) servers with service provider's (P)server. The communication channel may be an url and a sample of such urlmight be “https://www.mslwallet.com/authentication.cfm”. The content ofthe request would be based on the specification for advanceauthentication request API provided by the service provider (P) to themerchants (M) and goods carriers (G) and as shown in FIG. 43-A. Themerchants (M) and goods carriers (G) would receive a response as shownin FIG. 43-R. The details of authentication API is given below underAuthentication API Process.

Authcode API Process:

When the service provider (P) receives an authcode request for inquireor for add or for update from merchants (M) or goods carriers (G), theservice provider (P) would verify the origin of the request and thecontent of the request. If the origin of the request and the content ofthe request are valid and if the access type is for inquire, then theservice provider (P) would send a successful response back to themerchants (M) or goods carriers (G) along with authcode information. Ifthe origin of the request and the content of the request are valid andthe access type is for add or for update, then the service provider (P)would create an authcode or use an authcode provided by the merchants(M) or goods carriers (G) to add or update the authcode in the authcodedatabase (44-12) and send a successful response back to the merchants(M) or goods carriers (G). On the other hand, if the origin of therequest is invalid, then the service provider (P) may not send anyresponse back to the requestor. If the origin of the request is valid,but the content of the request is invalid then the service provider (P)would send an error response back to the requestor.

When the service provider receives a request for an authcode inquire orfor add or for update through a previously established communicationchannel by the service provider (P) from merchants (M) or goods carriers(G), the service provider (P) would initiate a validation process andthe first and foremost task of the validation process would be to savethe IP address from which the request was received and saving the valuesof a set of variables in the request which is shown as a sample in FIG.42-A namely RequestorType, RequestorId, RequestorSubId, Password,RequestType, ServiceType, AccessType, GoodsCarrierName, TrackingNumber,LockSerialNumber, Address1, Address2, City, State, Zip, Latitude,Longitude, PackageWidth, PackageHeight, PackageDepth, ExpirationDate,and ExpirationTime. Then the service provider (P) would determinewhether the request is received from a valid IP address by verifying theIP address of the request with the IP addresses provided by variousmerchants (M) and goods carriers (G). The merchants (M) and goodscarriers (G) maintain their information in merchant (M) database (44-9)and goods carrier (G) database (44-10) respectively and as per theschema 28-1 and 29-1 as shown in FIG. 28 and FIG. 29 where the schemaalso includes the IP addresses. The service provider (P) would determinebased on the IP address, the origin of the request by the requestortype, the requestor id and the requestor sub id. In case of merchants(M) the requestor type would be ‘M’, the requestor id would be merchantid and requestor sub id would be location id. In case of goods carriers(G) the requestor type would be ‘G’, the requestor id would be goodscarrier id and requestor sub id would be location id. It is possible tohave more than one requestor sub id for the sane requestor type andrequestor id, because several locations under one merchant (M) or underone goods carrier (G) may share the same IP address. If the origin ofthe request is valid then the service provider (P) would comparerequestor type, requestor id, requestor sub id and password from thedatabase with the RequestorType, RequestorId, RequestorSubId andPassword received by the service provider (P) in the content of therequest to get a unique merchant (M) and a location id or a goodscarrier (G) and a location id. If a unique merchant (M) and a locationid or goods carrier (G) and a location id is identified then thevalidation process will continue, otherwise the validation process willterminate. The content can be in any number of formats such as xml, json, delimited text etc. An example in xml format 42-A is shown in FIG.42-A.

If the validation process continues and if the RequestorType is ‘M’,then the service provider (P) would determine whether the uniquemerchant (M) has opted to use authcode API based on the value set forthe field AuthcodeApiYN in merchant database 44-9 as per the veryhigh-level but also generally representative schema 28-1 as shown inFIG. 28. If the service provider (P) determines that the merchant (M)has opted to use authcode API, then the validation process willcontinue, otherwise the validation process will terminate.

If the validation process continues and if the RequestorType is ‘G’,then the service provider (P) would determine whether the unique goodscarrier (G) has opted to use authcode API based on the value set for thefield AuthcodeApiYN in merchant database 44-10 as per the veryhigh-level but also generally representative schema 29-1 as shown inFIG. 29. If the service provider (P) determines that the goods carrier(G) has opted to use authcode API, then the validation process willcontinue, otherwise the validation process will terminate.

If the validation process continues, then the service provider (P) wouldvalidate the RequestType received in the content. If the RequestType is‘D’ or ‘A’ then the validation process would continue, otherwise itwould terminate. The RequestType ‘D’ is for delivery, and ‘P’ is forpick up.

If the validation process continues, then the service provider (P) wouldvalidate the AccessType received in the content. If the AccessType is‘I’ or ‘A’ then the validation process would continue, otherwise itwould terminate. The AccessType ‘I’ is for inquire, and ‘A’ is for addor update. If the AccessType is ‘I’ and if the RequestorType is ‘M’ thenthe validation process will terminate. If the AccessType is ‘I’ andServiceType is not ‘ ’ then the validation process will terminate. Ifthe AccessType is ‘I’ and TrackingNumber is ‘ ’ then the validationprocess will terminate.

If the validation process continues, then the service provider (P) wouldvalidate the ServiceType received in the content. If the ServiceType is‘D’ or ‘T’ or ‘M’ or ‘ ’ then the validation process would continue,otherwise it would terminate. The ServiceType is ‘D’ for drones, ‘T’ fortrucks, ‘M’ for humans and ‘ ’ for drones or trucks or humans. If therequestor RequestorType is ‘M’ and if the ServiceType is not blank, thenthe validation process would terminate.

If the validation process continues and if the AccessTye is ‘I’, thenthe service provider would access the most recent data from authcodedatabase 44-12 for the TrackingNumber. If the most recent data for theTrackingNumber is not available, then validation process will terminate.

If the validation process continues and if the AccessTye is ‘I’, thenthe service provider (P) would validate authcode status from theauthcode database 44-12. If the authcode status is not ‘A’ thevalidation process will terminate. If the validation process continuesthen the service provider (P) would validate Goods Carrier Id receivedfrom the database. If the RequestorType is ‘G’ and if the RequestorIDdoes not match the Goods Carrier Id received from the authcode database44-12 then the validation process will terminate. If the validationprocess continues, then the service provider (P) would validate Owner Idreceived from the authcode database 44-12. If the most recentinformation from the owner database 44-8 for the owner id from authcodedatabase 44-12 does not match the address1, address2, city, state, zip,latitude or longitude then the validation process will terminate.

If the validation process continues and if the AccessTye is ‘I’, thenthe service provider (P) would set the value ‘1’ to ReturnCode, set thevalue ‘Success’ to SuccessMsg, populate the values TrackingNumber,ExpirationDate and ExpirationTime from the content and LockSerialNumber,LockType, LockerLatitude, LockerLongitude, DroneYN, TruckYN and ManualYNfrom locker database 44-11 where the LockSerialNumber is the Front SideLock Serial Number and LockType is Front Side Lock Type and send theresponse back to the requestor and end the validation process.

If the validation continues, then the service provider (P) wouldvalidate TrackingNumber. If the value of TrackingNumber is not blank thevalidation process will continue, otherwise it will terminate.

If the validation continues, then the service provider (P) wouldvalidate RequestType. If the value of RequestType is ‘D’, then theservice provider (P) would process the authcode request for ‘Delivery’of goods and the validation process will continue, otherwise it willterminate.

If the validation continues, then the service provider would validatethe ExpirationDate and ExpirationTime based on current date and currenttime. The validation process would include that ExpirationDate andExpirationTime would be a future date and time where the ExpirationDateand ExpirationTime is within a pre-determined number of days, hours andminutes where the pre-determined number of days, hours and minutes isset by the service provider (P) where the pre-determined number of days,hours and minutes are based on the RequestType and the pre-determinednumber of days, hours and minutes are reasonable for the service beingprovided by the service provider (P).

If the validation continues, then the service provider (P) woulddetermine a specific owner id and a specific locker number based on thevalues received in the authcode request.

If the validation continues and if the LockSerialNumber is not blankthen the service provider (P) would determine the owner id, lockernumber, front side lock type, maximum package width, maximum packageheight and maximum package depth using the LockSerialNumber from thelocker database 44-11 based on the representative schema 30-1 as shownin FIG. 30. The LockSerialNumber should match the front side lock serialnumber in the locker database 44-11. If the LockSerialNumber is notblank and if the service provider (P) cannot determine an owner id, alocker number and front side lock type, then the validation processwould terminate.

If the validation process continues and if the LockSerialNumber is notblank the service provider (P) would also verify locker ownerinformation for the owner id from owner database 44-8 against the valuesreceived in the authcode request namely address1, address2, city, stateand zip. If the owner information cannot be verified then the serviceprovider (P) would terminate the validation process, otherwise it willcontinue.

If the validation process continues and if the LockSerialNumber is notblank, then the service provider (P) would also verify that the packagebased on the size in width, height and depth given in the authcoderequest would fit in the locker determined by the LockSerialNumber. Ifthe package based on the size in width, height and depth would not fitin the locker determined by the LockSerialNumber then the serviceprovider (P) would terminate validation process, otherwise it willcontinue.

If the validation process continues and if the LockSerialNumber is notblank and ServiceType is not ‘ ’ then the service provider (P) wouldalso verify that the locker access type from locker database 44-11matches with the requested ServiceType. If ServiceType is ‘D’ and if thevalue of drone access allowed YN is ‘N’ from the locker database 44-11for the LockSerialNumber then the service provider (P) would terminatevalidation process. If ServiceType is ‘T’ and if the value of truckaccess allowed YN is ‘N’ from the locker database 44-11 for theLockSerialNumber then the service provider (P) would terminatevalidation process. If ServiceType is ‘M’ and if the value of manualaccess allowed YN is ‘N’ from the locker database 44-11 for theLockSerialNumber then the service provider (P) would terminatevalidation process, otherwise it will continue.

If the validation continues and if the LockSerialNumber is blank, thenthe service provider (P) would determine the owner id based on thevalues for latitude and longitude received in the request and the valuesstored in the locker owner (O) database (44-8). If the distance betweenthe delivery location as determined by the latitude and longitude in thereceived content and the locker owner (O) location as determined by thelatitude and longitude stored in the locker owner database (44-8) iswithin a limit pre-established by the service provider (P) for examplewithin 100 feet, then the validation process will continue otherwise itwill terminate. If the validation process continues, the serviceprovider (P) would narrow down in determining the owner id usingadditional information provided in the authcode request namely address1,address2, city, state and zip. If a single locker owner id isestablished the validation process will continue otherwise it willterminate. If the validation process continues, the service provider (P)would then select one or more lockers by locker numbers owned by thelocker owner (O) where the selected one or more lockers can hold thepackage based on the package width, height and depth in the authcoderequest. If ServiceType is not ‘ ’ then the service provider (P) wouldalso verify that the locker access type from locker database 44-11matches with the requested ServiceType. If ServiceType is ‘D’ and if thevalue of drone access allowed YN is ‘N’ from the locker database 44-11for a selected locker in the one or more selected lockers, then theservice provider (P) would remove the selected locker. If ServiceType is‘T’ and if the value of truck access allowed YN is ‘N’ from the lockerdatabase 44-11 for a selected locker in the one or more selectedlockers, then the service provider (P) would remove the selected locker.If ServiceType is ‘M’ and if the value of manual access allowed YN is‘N’ from the locker database 44-11 for a selected locker in the one ormore selected lockers, then the service provider (P) would remove theselected locker.

If at least one locker is selected, then the service provider (P) wouldselect the first owner id and locker number from the selected one ormore lockers where the value of front side lock type of the selectedlocker is ‘N’ as the determined owner id and locker number. If theservice provider (P) is not able to determine a single owner id andlocker number, then the service provider would select the first owner idand locker number from the selected one or more lockers as thedetermined owner id and locker number. If the service provider (P) isable to determine a single owner id and locker number then thevalidation process will continue, otherwise it will terminate.

If the RequestorType is ‘G’ then the service provider (P) would use theRequestorId and RequestorSubId as goods carrier id and location idrespectively, otherwise the service provider would use goods carrierdatabase 44-10 and GoodsCarrierName to determine the goods carrier id.If the service provider (P) identifies more than one goods carrier idfor the GoodsCarrierName, then the service provider (P) would use thelatitude, longitude and radius in miles information saved by the goodscarrier in the goods carrier database 44-10 and the latitude andlongitude information saved by the owner id in the locker owner database(44-8). The service provider (P) would select one or more goods carriers(G) where the locker owner (O) is within the goods carrier (G) servicearea. If the service provider (P) selected one or more goods carriers,then the validation process would continue, otherwise it will terminate.If the validation process continues, then the service provider (P) wouldselect the closest goods carrier (G) to the locker owner (O) based onthe goods carrier (G) location and the locker owner (O) owner location.Once a single goods carrier id and a location id is selected, theservice provider would determine the value for AuthenticationApiYN fromgoods carrier database 44-10 using the value of goods carrier id andlocation id using the schema 29-1 as shown in FIG. 29. If a single goodscarrier id and a location id cannot be determined, then the validationprocess would terminate.

If the validation process continues and if the front side lock type ofthe determined locker is ‘N’, if the AuthenticationApiYN is ‘Y’ and ifthe ServiceType is not ‘D’ then the service provider (P) would selectthe determined single owner id and locker number as the valid owner idand locker id and would populate SuccessMsg with the text “Scan the QRCode displayed on the locker number XX using the mobile app to deliverthe goods” where the XX would be the locker number determined by theservice provider (P) from the one or more lockers and end the validationprocess.

If the validation process continues the service provider (P) wouldcreate a random number of any length, but preferably 6 digits or arandom text of any length, but preferably 6 characters long, the serviceprovider (P) would use the random number or the random text as authcode.The service provider (P) would insert a row in AuthCode database 44-12with valid owner id, locker number, locker side, good carrier id,TrackingNumber, RequestType, authcode, current date and time as entrydate and time, ExpirationDate and ExpirationTime received in theauthcode request, authcode status as ‘A’ and usage type as ‘S’ using therepresentative schema 31-1 as shown in FIG. 31. If the front door locktype of the owner id, lock number is ‘S’ then the service provider (P)would send a text message or an app notification to the locker owner toprogram the standalone lock connected to the front door of the lockerwith the authcode that was used to update the authcode database 44-12.

If the row insert into the AuthCode database 44-12 is successful thenthe validation process will continue, otherwise it will terminate.

If the validation process continues and if the front door lock type ofthe owner id, lock number is ‘S’ or ‘N’ then the service provider (P)would populate the SuccessMsg with the locker number and the authcodewhere an example of such a SuccessMsg would be “Locker Number: XXAuthorization Code: YYYYYY to open the locker” where XX is the validlocker number and YYYYYY is the authcode otherwise the service provider(P) would populate the SuccessMsg with the locker number and a dronemessage where an example of such a SuccessMsg would be “Drone ConsumerLocker Number: XX” where XX is the valid locker number.

If the validation process continues and if the RequestorType is ‘G’,then the service provider (P) would populate the valuesLockSerialNumber, LockType, Latitude, Longitude, DroneYN, TruckYN andManualYN with the corresponding values from locker database 44-11 forvalid owner id and locker number where the LockSerialNumber is the FrontSide Lock Serial Number and LockType is Front Side Lock Type. If thevalidation process continues and if the RequestorType is ‘M’, then theservice provider (P) would populate the values LockSerialNumber,LockType, Latitude, Longitude, DroneYN, TruckYN and ManualYN withblanks.

If the validation process is terminated, then the service provider (P)would populate the values LockSerialNumber, LockType, Latitude,Longitude, DroneYN, TruckYN and ManualYN with blanks.

If the validation process continues, then the service provider (P) wouldend the validation process.

If the validation process ended and if the SuccessMsg is populated thenthe service provider (P) would set the value ‘1’ for ReturnCode. On theother hand, if the validation process terminated then the serviceprovider (P) would set an appropriate value other than ‘1’ forReturnCode and populate the ErrorMsg with an appropriate text dependingon where the validation process was terminated. For example, ifLockSerialNumber is not blank and the service provider was not able todetermine the owner id and locker number based on the LockSerialNumber,then the service provider (P) might set a value ‘10’ for ReturnCode andpopulate the ErrorMsg with the text “Invalid Consumer Locker SerialNumber”. Once the values are populated based on the example shown inFIG. 42-R the service provider (P) would send the response back to therequestor requested the authcode using the authcode request API.Authentication API Process:

When the service provider (P) receives an advance authentication requestfrom merchants (M) or goods carriers (G), the service provider (P) wouldverify the origin of the request and the content of the request. If theorigin of the request and the content of the request are valid then theservice provider (P) would set the advance authentication flag to ‘Y’for the requested lock. On the other hand, if the origin of the requestis invalid, the service provider (P) may not send any response back tothe requestor. If the origin of the request is valid, but the content ofthe request is invalid then the service provider (P) would send an errorresponse back to the requestor.

When the service provider receives a request for an advanceauthentication through a previously established communication channel bythe service provider (P) from merchants (M) or goods carriers (G), theservice provider (P) would initiate a validation process and the firstand foremost task of the validation process would be to determinewhether the request is received from a valid IP address by verifying theIP address of the request with the IP addresses provided by variousmerchants (M) and goods carriers (G). The merchants (M) and goodscarriers (G) maintain their information in merchant (M) database (44-9)and goods carrier (G) database (44-10) respectively and as per theschema 28-1 and 29-1 as shown in FIG. 28 and FIG. 29 where the schemaalso includes the IP addresses. The service provider (P) would determinebased on the IP address of the origin of the request the requestor type,the requestor id and the requestor sub id. In case of merchants (M) therequestor type would be ‘M’, the requestor id would be merchant id andrequestor sub id would be location id. In case of goods carriers (G) therequestor type would be ‘G’, the requestor id would be goods carrier idand requestor sub id would be location id. It is possible to have morethan one requestor sub id for the same requestor type and requestor id,because several locations under one merchant (M) or under one goodscarrier (G) may share the same IP address.

If the origin of the request is valid then the service provider (P)would compare requestor type, requestor id, requestor sub id andpassword with the RequestorType, RequestorId, RequestorSubId andPassword received by the service provider (P) in the content to get aunique merchant (M) or goods carrier (G). If a unique merchant (M) orgoods carrier (G) is identified then the validation process willcontinue, otherwise the validation process will terminate.

If the validation process continues and if the RequestorType is ‘M’,then the service provider (P) would determine whether the uniquemerchant (M) has opted to use authentication API based on the value setfor the field AuthenticationApiYN in merchant database 44-9 as per thevery high-level but also generally representative schema 28-1 as shownin FIG. 28. If the service provider (P) determines that the merchant (M)has opted to use authentication API, then the validation process willcontinue, otherwise the validation process will terminate.

If the validation process continues and if the RequestorType is ‘G’,then the service provider (P) would determine whether the unique goodscarrier (G) has opted to use authentication API based on the value setfor the field AuthenticationApiYN in goods carrier database 44-10 as perthe very high-level but also generally representative schema 29-1 asshown in FIG. 29. If the service provider (P) determines that the goodscarrier (G) has opted to use authentication API, then the validationprocess will continue, otherwise the validation process will terminate.

The content can be in any number of formats such as xml, j son,delimited text etc. An example in xml format 43-A is shown in FIG. 43-A.If the validation continues, then the service provider (P) woulddetermine the single lock where the serial number of the lock would besame as the serial number in the content. If a single lock is identifiedand the single lock belongs to front side of a locker (L) then theverification will continue otherwise the verification will terminate.

If the verification continues and if the expiration minutes is within apreset limit set by the service provider (P) where the expirationminutes, for example, may be less than 30 seconds, then the verificationprocess will continue, otherwise it will terminate.

If the verification continues and if the requestor type is ‘M’ or ‘G’and if the tracking number received in the content is not blank then theservice provider (P) would verify the tracking number using the authcodedatabase 44-12. The service provider (P) would retrieve the most recentrow of data from the authcode database 44-12 for the tracking numberreceived in the content. If a row of information is retrieved and theauthcode status in the retrieved row of information is not ‘A’ then theverification process will terminate.

If the verification continues the service provider (P) would add a rowin the authentication database (44-13) with authentication status set to‘Y’. The service provider (P) would determine the owner id, locker id,locker side based on the lock serial number received in the content,would use the requestor type, requestor id, requestor sub id andtracking number received in the content, would calculate request date,request time, expired date and expiration time based on the expirationminutes received in the content.

If the verification continues and if the requestor type is ‘M’ or ‘G’and if the tracking number received in the content is not blank and ifthe most recent row of data from the authcode database 44-12 for thetracking number received in the content is found and if the authcodestatus in the retrieved row of information is ‘A’ and the signature inthe retrieved row of information is not blank then the service provider(P) would include the signature in the success message

The service provider would send the successful or error message based onthe validation process and the format of successful or error messagewould be in the same format of the authcode request message. An examplein xml format 43-R as shown in FIG. 43-R where if the value ofReturnCode is ‘1’, then the request is successful and if the ReturnCodeis anything other than ‘1’ then the request is not successful. Therequestor, merchant (M) or goods carrier (G) upon receiving a successfulresponse would notify the human or the drone or the truck to open thedoor to which the lock identified by the serial number is attached towithout entering an authcode in the key pad before the advanceauthentication expires.

Store Pickup Authcode API Process:

When the service provider (P) receives a store pickup authcode requestthe service provider (P) would verify the origin and the content of therequest.

When the service provider receives a store pickup authcode requestthrough a previously established communication channel by the serviceprovider (P) from merchants (M), the service provider (P) would initiatea validation process and the first and foremost task of the validationprocess would be to save the IP address from which the request wasreceived and saving the values of a set of variables in the requestwhich is shown as an sample in FIG. 49-A namely MerchantId, LocationId,Password, AccessType, OrderNumber, ConsumerId, CheckedIn,LockSerialNumber, AuthCode, ExpirationDate, and ExpirationTime. Then theservice provider (P) would determine whether the request is receivedfrom a valid IP address by verifying the IP address of the request withthe IP addresses provided by various merchants (M). The merchants (M)maintain their information in merchant (M) database (44-9) and as perthe schema 28-1 as shown in FIG. 28 where the schema also includes theIP addresses. The service provider (P) would determine based on the IPaddress, the origin of the request by the merchantid and the locationid.It is possible to have more than one locationid for the same merchantid,because several locations under one merchant (M) may share the same IPaddress.

If the origin of the request is valid then the service provider (P)would compare MerchantId, LocationId and Password from the merchantdatabase 44-9 with the MerchantId, LocationId and Password received bythe service provider (P) in the content of the request to get a uniquemerchant (M) and a location. If a unique merchant (M) and a location isidentified then the validation process will continue, otherwise thevalidation process will terminate.

If the validation process continues, then the service provider (P) wouldverify the value of AccessType. If AccessType is ‘A’ or ‘I’ or ‘C’ or‘N’ or the validation process will continue, otherwise the validationprocess will terminate. The value in AccessType ‘A’ stands for add, ‘I’stands for inquire, ‘C’ stands for check-in, ‘N’ stands for advanceauthentication and stands for order load. If the validation processcontinues, if the AccessType is ‘A’ and if the value of CheckedIn is not‘Y’ and is not ‘N’, then the validation process will. If the validationprocess continues, if the AccessType is ‘C’ and if the value ofCheckedIn is not ‘Y’, then the validation process will terminate. If thevalidation process continues, if the AccessType is ‘N’ and if the valueof LockSerialNumber is blank, then the validation process willterminate. If the validation process continues, if the AccessType is ‘L’and if the value of OrderNumber is blank or LockSerialNumber is blank,then the validation process will terminate. If the validation processcontinues, if the AccessType is not ‘N’ and if the AccessType is not andif the value of LockSerialNumber is not blank, then the validationprocess will terminate.

If the validation process continues and if the AccessType ‘A’, then theservice provider would verify the values OrderNumber, ConsumerId,CheckedIn, LockSerialNumber, AuthCode, ExpirationDate, andExpirationTime. If the validation process continues, if the AccessType‘A’ and if the OrderNumber is blank then the validation process willterminate. If the validation process continues, if the AccessType ‘A’and if the CheckedIn is ‘Y’ or ‘N’ then the validation process willcontinue, otherwise it will terminate. If the validation processcontinues, if the AccessType ‘A’ and if the LockSerialNumber is notblank or if the AuthCode is not blank then the validation process willterminate. If the validation continues and if the AccessType ‘A’, thenthe service provider would validate the ExpirationDate andExpirationTime based on current date and current time and the validationprocess would include that ExpirationDate and ExpirationTime would be afuture date and time where the ExpirationDate and ExpirationTime iswithin a pre-determined number of days, hours and minutes where thepre-determined number of days, hours and minutes is set by the serviceprovider (P) where the pre-determined number of days, hours and minutesare reasonable for Store Pickup. If the validation process continues, ifthe AccessType ‘A’ and if the ExpirationDate is not valid orExpirationTime is not valid then the validation process will terminate.If the validation process continues and if the AccessType ‘A’, then theservice provider (P) would insert one row of data into store pickupdatabase 44-15 using the values received in the content of the requestsetting a random number or part of OrderNumber for AuthCode where therandom number or part of ordernumber is not being used by any otheractive row in the store pickup database 44-15, the value ‘N’ forAuthenticated, blank for LockerlNumber and blank for LockerSide. If thevalidation continues and if the AccessType ‘A’ and if the insert of onerow of data into store pickup database 44-15 is successful then theservice provider (P) would set the value ‘1’ to ReturnCode, set thevalue ‘Success’ to SuccessMsg, populate the values MerchantId,LocationId, OrderNumber, ConsumerId, CheckedIn, LockerNumber,LockerSide, Authenticated, AuthCode, ExpirationDate, and ExpirationTimefrom the one row of data inserted into the store pickup database 44-15,blank for LockSerialNumber and end the validation process, otherwiseterminate the validation process.

If the validation process continues and if the AccessType ‘C’, then theservice provider would verify the values OrderNumber, ConsumerId,CheckedIn and AuthCode. If the validation process continues, if theAccessType ‘C’ and if the value of CheckedIn is not ‘Y’, then thevalidation process will terminate.

If the validation process continues and if the AccessType ‘N’, then theservice provider would verify the values OrderNumber, ConsumerId,LockSerialNumber and AuthCode. If the validation process continues, ifthe AccessType ‘N’ and if the value of LockSerialNumber is blank, thenthe validation process will terminate.

If the validation process continues and if the AccessType then theservice provider would verify the values OrderNumber andLockSerialNumber. If the validation process continues, if the AccessType‘L’ and if the value of OrderNumber is blank or LockSerialNumber isblank, then the validation process will terminate.

If the validation process continues and if the value of OrderNumberreceived in the content is not blank, then then service provider (P)would access the most recent row of data from store pickup database44-15 where the OrderNumber received from the store pickup database44-15 is same as the OrderNumber received in the content. If the valueof OrderNumber received in the content is not blank and no row of datais retrieved from the store pickup database 44-15, then the serviceprovider (P) would terminate the validation process. If the validationprocess continues, if the value of OrderNumber received in the contentis not blank and if one row of data is retrieved from the store pickupdatabase 44-15 and if the value of Authcode Status in the one row ofdata retrieved from the store pickup database 44-15 is not ‘A’, then theservice provider (P) would terminate the validation process. If thevalidation process continues, if the value of OrderNumber received inthe content is not blank, if the value of ConsumerId received in thecontent is not blank and one row is retrieved from the store pickupdatabase 44-15 and if the value of Authcode Status in one row of dataretrieved from the store pickup database 44-15 is ‘A’ and if the valueof ConsumerId in one row of data retrieved from the store pickupdatabase 44-15 is not same as the value of ConsumerId received in thecontent, then the service provider (P) would terminate the validationprocess. If the validation process continues, if the value ofOrderNumber received in the content is not blank, if the value ofAuthCode received in the content is not blank and one row is retrievedfrom the store pickup database 44-15 and if the value of Authcode Statusin one row of data retrieved from the store pickup database 44-15 is ‘A’and if the value of AuthCode in one row of data retrieved from the storepickup database 44-15 is not same as the value of AuthCode received inthe content, then the service provider (P) would terminate thevalidation process. If the validation process continues, if the value ofOrderNumber received in the content is not blank and one row isretrieved from the store pickup database 44-15 and if the value ofAuthcode Status in one row of data retrieved from the store pickupdatabase 44-15 is not ‘A’, then the service provider (P) would terminatethe validation process.

If the validation process continues, if the value of OrderNumberreceived in the content is blank and if the value of ConsumerId receivedin the content is not blank, then the service provider (P) would accessthe most recent rows of data from store pickup database 44-15 where theConsumerId received from the store pickup database 44-15 is same as theConsumerId received in the content. If the validation process continues,if the value of OrderNumber received in the content is blank, if thevalue of ConsumerId received in the content is not blank and no row ofdata is retrieved from the store pickup database 44-15, then the serviceprovider (P) would terminate the validation process. If the validationprocess continues, if the value of OrderNumber received in the contentis blank, if the value of ConsumerId received in the content is notblank and if one or more rows of data is retrieved from the store pickupdatabase 44-15 and if the value of Authcode Status in all the rows ofdata retrieved from the store pickup database 44-15 is not ‘A’, then theservice provider (P) would terminate the validation process.

If the validation process continues, if the value of OrderNumberreceived in the content is blank and if the value of AuthCode receivedin the content is not blank, then then service provider (P) would accessthe most recent rows of data from store pickup database 44-15 where theAuthCode received from the store pickup database 44-15 is same as theAuthCode received in the content. If the validation process continues,if the value of OrderNumber received in the content is blank, if thevalue of AuthCode received in the content is not blank and no row ofdata is retrieved from the store pickup database 44-15, then the serviceprovider (P) would terminate the validation process. If the validationprocess continues, if the value of OrderNumber received in the contentis blank, if the value of AuthCode received in the content is not blankand if one or more rows are retrieved from the store pickup database44-15 and if the value of Authcode Status in all the rows of dataretrieved from the store pickup database 44-15 is not ‘A’, then theservice provider (P) would terminate the validation process.

If the validation process continues and one or more rows of data isretrieved from store pickup database 44-15, then the service providerwould remove the row or rows of data from one or more rows of dataretrieved from store pickup database 44-15 where the value of AuthcodeStatus in one or more rows of data retrieved from store pickup database44-15 is not ‘A’ to create the final store pickup data. If thevalidation process continues and if the value of ConsumerId received inthe content is not blank, then the service provider (P) would remove therow or rows of data from the final store pickup data where the value ofthe ConsumerId in any row of data in the final store pickup data is notsame as the value of ConsumerId received in the content. If thevalidation process continues and if the value of AuthCode received inthe content is not blank, then the service provider (P) would remove therow or rows of data from the final store pickup data where the value ofthe AuthCode in any row of data in the final store pickup data is notsame as the value of AuthCode received in the content.

If the validation process continues and the number of rows in the finalstore pickup data is 0, then the service provider (P) would terminatethe validation process.

If the validation process continues and if the AccessTye is ‘I’ then theservice provider (P) would set the value ‘1’ to ReturnCode, set thevalue ‘Success’ to SuccessMsg, populate the values MerchantId,LocationId, OrderNumber, ConsumerId, CheckedIn, LockerNumber, LockerSideAuthenticated, AuthCode, ExpirationDate, and ExpirationTime from thefirst row in the final store pickup data and set the value forLockSerialNumber as blank and end the validation process.

If the validation process continues and if the AccessTye is ‘C’ then theservice provider (P) would update the store pickup database 44-15 bysetting the value for CheckedIn as ‘Y’ for the row or rows of data inthe final store pickup data. If the validation process continues, if theAccessTye is ‘C’ and if the update of the store pickup database 44-15for the row or rows of data in the final store pickup data is notsuccessful then the service provider (P) would terminate the validationprocess. If the validation process continues and if the AccessTye is ‘C’then the service provider (P) would set the value ‘1’ to ReturnCode, setthe value ‘Success’ to SuccessMsg, populate the values MerchantId,LocationId, OrderNumber, ConsumerId, CheckedIn, LockerNumber,LockerSide, Authenticated, AuthCode, ExpirationDate, and ExpirationTimefrom the first row in the final store pickup data and set the value forLockSerialNumber as blank and end the validation process.

If the validation process continues and if the AccessTye is ‘L’ then theservice provider (P) would start locker validation process to validateLockSerialNumber received in the content and update the valuesLockerNumber and LockerSide in store pickup database 44-15 for theOrderNumber in the first row of the final store pickup data. If thevalidation process continues and if the AccessTye is ‘L’ then theservice provider would access the most recent row of data from lockerdatabase 44-11 where the OwnerId and FrontSideLockSerialNumber receivedfrom the locker database 44-11 is ‘M-’ plus MerchantId received in thecontent, plus plus LocationId received in the content andLockSerialNumber received in the content respectively. If the validationprocess continues, if the AccessTye is ‘L’ and one row of data is notretrieved from locker database 44-11 then the locker validation processwould terminate. If the validation process continues, if the AccessTyeis ‘L’, if one row of data is retrieved from locker database 44-11 andif the value of status from the one row of data retrieved from lockerdatabase 44-11 is not ‘A’ then the locker validation process wouldterminate.

If the validation process continues, if the AccessTye is ‘L’ and ifnumber of rows in final store pick up where the value of the LockerNumber in final store pickup is same as locker number in the one row ofdata retrieved from locker database 44-11 is more than 0 then theservice provider (P) would terminate the validation process.

If the validation process continues and if the AccessTye is ‘L’ then theservice provider (P) would remove the row or rows of data from the finalstore pickup data where the value of the Locker Number in any row ofdata in the final store pickup data is not blank. If the validationprocess continues and the number of rows in the final store pickup datais 0, then the service provider (P) would terminate the validationprocess.

If the validation process continues, if the AccessTye is ‘L’, if thevalue of status from the one row of data retrieved from locker database44-11 is ‘A’, if the value of location from the one row of dataretrieved from locker database 44-11 type is ‘W’ if the value of frontside lock status from the one row of data retrieved from locker database44-1 is not ‘L’ then the service provider (P) would terminate thevalidation process. If the validation process continues, if theAccessTye is ‘L’, if the value of status from the one row of dataretrieved from locker database 44-11 is ‘A’, if the value of locationfrom the one row of data retrieved from locker database 44-11 type is‘W’, if the value of front side lock status from the one row of dataretrieved from locker database 44-1 is ‘L’ and if the number of rows inthe final store pickup data is not 1 then the service provider (P) wouldterminate the validation process. If the validation process continues,if the AccessTye is ‘L’, if the value of status from the one row of dataretrieved from locker database 44-11 is ‘A’, if the value of locationfrom the one row of data retrieved from locker database 44-11 type is‘W’, if the value of front side lock status from the one row of dataretrieved from locker database 44-1 is ‘L’, if the number of rows in thefinal store pickup data is 1, if the locker number from the final storepickup data is blank and if the value of locker side from the finalstore pickup data is blank then the service provider (P) would updatestore pickup database 44-15 for the OrderNumber in the first row in thefinal store pickup data with locker number as locker number from the onerow of data retrieved from locker database 44-11 and locker side aslocker side from the one row of data retrieved from locker database44-11.

If the validation process continues, if the AccessTye is ‘L’, if thevalue of status from the one row of data retrieved from locker database44-11 is ‘A’, if the value of location from the one row of dataretrieved from locker database 44-11 type is ‘W’, if the value of frontside lock status from the one row of data retrieved from locker database44-1 is ‘L’, if the number of rows in the final store pickup data is 1,if the locker number from the final store pickup data is blank and ifthe value of locker side from the final store pickup data is blank andif the updating of store pickup database 44-15 with values forLockerNumber, LockerSide is successful then the service provider (P)would set the value ‘1’ to ReturnCode, set the value ‘Success’ toSuccessMsg, populate the values MerchantId, LocationId, OrderNumber,ConsumerId, CheckedIn, LockerNumber, LockerSide, Authenticated,AuthCode, ExpirationDate, and ExpirationTime from the updated row instore pickup database 44-15, set the value for LockSerialNumber same asLockSerialNumber received in the content and end the validation process.

If the validation process continues and if the AccessTye is ‘L’ then theservice provider (P) would start locker validation process to validateLockSerialNumber received in the content and update the valuesLockerNumber and LockerSide in store pickup database 44-15 for theOrderNumber in the first row of the final store pickup data. If thevalidation process continues and if the AccessTye is ‘L’ then theservice provider would access the most recent row of data from lockerdatabase 44-11 where the OwnerId and LockSerialNumber received from thelocker database 44-11 is ‘M-’ plus MerchantId received in the content,plus LocationId received in the content and BackSideLockSerialNumberreceived in the content respectively. If the validation processcontinues, if the AccessTye is ‘L’ and one row of data is not retrievedfrom locker database 44-11 then the locker validation process wouldterminate. If the validation process continues, if the AccessTye is ‘L’,if one row of data is retrieved from locker database 44-11 and if thevalue of status from the one row of data retrieved from locker database44-11 is not ‘A’ then the locker validation process would terminate.

If the validation process continues, if the AccessTye is ‘L’ and ifnumber of rows in final store pick up where the value of the LockerNumber in final store pickup is same as locker number in the one row ofdata retrieved from locker database 44-11 is more than 0 then theservice provider (P) would terminate the validation process.

If the validation process continues and if the AccessTye is ‘L’ then theservice provider (P) would remove the row or rows of data from the finalstore pickup data where the value of the Locker Number in any row ofdata in the final store pickup data is not blank. If the validationprocess continues and the number of rows in the final store pickup datais 0, then the service provider (P) would terminate the validationprocess.

If the validation process continues, if the AccessTye is ‘L’, if thevalue of status from the one row of data retrieved from locker database44-11 is ‘A’, if the value of location from the one row of dataretrieved from locker database 44-11 type is ‘B’ if the value of backside lock status from the one row of data retrieved from locker database44-1 is not ‘L’ then the service provider (P) would terminate thevalidation process. If the validation process continues, if theAccessTye is ‘L’, if the value of status from the one row of dataretrieved from locker database 44-11 is ‘A’, if the value of locationfrom the one row of data retrieved from locker database 44-11 type is‘B’, if the value of back side lock status from the one row of dataretrieved from locker database 44-1 is ‘L’ and if the number of rows inthe final store pickup data is not 1 then the service provider (P) wouldterminate the validation process. If the validation process continues,if the AccessTye is ‘L’, if the value of status from the one row of dataretrieved from locker database 44-11 is ‘A’, if the value of locationfrom the one row of data retrieved from locker database 44-11 type is‘B’, if the value of back side lock status from the one row of dataretrieved from locker database 44-1 is ‘L’, if the number of rows in thefinal store pickup data is 1, if the locker number from the final storepickup data is blank and if the value of locker side from the finalstore pickup data is blank then the service provider (P) would updatestore pickup database 44-15 for the OrderNumber in the first row in thefinal store pickup data with locker number as locker number from the onerow of data retrieved from locker database 44-11 and locker side aslocker side from the one row of data retrieved from locker database44-11.

If the validation process continues, if the AccessTye is ‘L’, if thevalue of status from the one row of data retrieved from locker database44-11 is ‘A’, if the value of location from the one row of dataretrieved from locker database 44-11 type is ‘B’, if the value of backside lock status from the one row of data retrieved from locker database44-1 is ‘L’, if the number of rows in the final store pickup data is 1,if the locker number from the final store pickup data is blank and ifthe value of locker side from the final store pickup data is blank andif the updating of store pickup database 44-15 with values forLockerNumber, LockerSide is successful then the service provider (P)would set the value ‘1’ to ReturnCode, set the value ‘Success’ toSuccessMsg, populate the values MerchantId, LocationId, OrderNumber,ConsumerId, CheckedIn, LockerNumber, LockerSide, Authenticated,AuthCode, ExpirationDate, and ExpirationTime from the updated row instore pickup database 44-15, set the value for LockSerialNumber same asLockSerialNumber received in the content and end the validation process.

If the validation process continues and if the AccessTye is ‘N’ then theservice provider (P) would start locker validation process to validateLockSerialNumber received in the content and update the valuesLockerNumber, LockerSide and Authenticated in store pickup database44-15 for the OrderNumber in the first row of the final store pickupdata. If the validation process continues and if the AccessTye is ‘N’then the service provider would access the most recent row of data fromlocker database 44-11 where the OwnerId and LockSerialNumber receivedfrom the locker database 44-11 is ‘M-’ plus MerchantId received in thecontent, plus LocationId received in the content and LockSerialNumberreceived in the content respectively. If the validation processcontinues, if the AccessTye is ‘N’ and one row of data is not retrievedfrom locker database 44-11 then the locker validation process wouldterminate. If the validation process continues, if the AccessTye is ‘N’,if one row of data is retrieved from locker database 44-11 and if thevalue of status from the one row of data retrieved from locker database44-11 is not ‘A’ then the locker validation process would terminate.

If the advance authentication request is for drive-thru locker, then thefront side of the locker must be unlocked, the drive-thru locker has notbeen assigned to any active order.

If the validation process continues, if the AccessTye is ‘N’, if thevalue of status from the one row of data retrieved from locker database44-11 is ‘A’, if the value of location from the one row of dataretrieved from locker database 44-11 type is or ‘B’ and if the value offront side lock status is not ‘U’ then the service provider (P) wouldterminate the validation process. If the validation process continues,if the AccessTye is ‘N’, if the value of status from the one row of dataretrieved from locker database 44-11 is ‘A’, if the value of locationfrom the one row of data retrieved from locker database 44-11 type is or‘B’ and if the value of front side lock status is ‘U’ then the serviceprovider (P) would determine the number of rows exist in store pickupdatabase 44-15 where the locker number in the one row of data retrievedfrom locker database 44-11 is the locker number in store pickup database44-15, locker side in the one row of data retrieved from the lockerdatabase 44-11 is the locker side in store pickup database 44-15 andauthcode status in store pickup database 44-15 is ‘A’. If the determinednumber of rows exist is more than 0 then the service provider (P) wouldterminate the validation process. If the validation process continues,if the AccessTye is ‘N’, if the value of status from the one row of dataretrieved from locker database 44-11 is ‘A’, if the value of locationfrom the one row of data retrieved from locker database 44-11 type is or‘B’ and if the value of front side lock status is ‘U’ then the serviceprovider (P) would update the values LockerNumber, LockerSide,Authenticated in store pickup database 44-15 for the OrderNumber in thefirst row in the final store pickup data with the values LockerNumberand LockerSide from the one row of data retrieved from locker database44-11 and ‘Y’ for Authenticated, otherwise the service provider (P)would terminate the validation process. If the validation processcontinues, if the AccessTye is ‘N’, if the value of status from the onerow of data retrieved from locker database 44-11 is ‘A’, if the value oflocation from the one row of data retrieved from locker database 44-11type is ‘L’ or ‘B’, if the value of front side lock status is ‘U’ and ifthe updating of store pickup database 44-15 with values forLockerNumber, LockerSide, Authenticated is not successful then theservice provider (P) would terminate the validation process. If thevalidation process continues, if the AccessTye is ‘N’, if the value ofstatus from the one row of data retrieved from locker database 44-11 is‘A’, if the value of location from the one row of data retrieved fromlocker database 44-11 type is ‘L’ or ‘B’, if the value of front sidelock status is ‘U’ and if the updating of store pickup database 44-15with values for LockerNumber, LockerSide, Authenticated is successfulthen the service provider (P) would set the value ‘1’ to ReturnCode, setthe value ‘Success’ to SuccessMsg, populate the values MerchantId,LocationId, OrderNumber, ConsumerId, CheckedIn, LockerNumber,LockerSide, Authenticated, AuthCode, ExpirationDate, and ExpirationTimefrom the updated row in store pickup database 44-15 and end thevalidation process.

If the advance authentication request is for counter locker, then thefront side of the locker must be locked, and the counter locker has beenassigned to the order in the advance authentication request.

If the validation process continues, if the AccessTye is ‘N’, if thevalue of status from the one row of data retrieved from locker database44-11 is ‘A’, if the value of location from the one row of dataretrieved from locker database 44-11 type is ‘W’ if the value of frontside lock status from the one row of data retrieved from locker database44-11 is not ‘L’ then the service provider (P) would terminate thevalidation process. If the validation process continues, if theAccessTye is ‘N’, if the value of status from the one row of dataretrieved from locker database 44-11 is ‘A’, if the value of locationfrom the one row of data retrieved from locker database 44-11 type is‘W’, if the value of front side lock status from the one row of dataretrieved from locker database 44-11 is ‘L’ and if the number of rows inthe final store pickup data is not 1 then the service provider (P) wouldterminate the validation process. If the validation process continues,if the AccessTye is ‘N’, if the value of status from the one row of dataretrieved from locker database 44-11 is ‘A’, if the value of locationfrom the one row of data retrieved from locker database 44-11 type is‘W’, if the value of front side lock status from the one row of dataretrieved from locker database 44-11 is ‘L’ and if the value of lockerNumber from the one row of data retrieved from locker database 44-11 isnot same as locker number from the final store pickup data then theservice provider (P) would terminate the validation process. If thevalidation process continues, if the AccessTye is ‘N’, if the value ofstatus from the one row of data retrieved from locker database 44-11 is‘A’, if the value of location from the one row of data retrieved fromlocker database 44-11 type is ‘W’, if the value of front side lockstatus from the one row of data retrieved from locker database 44-11 is‘L’ and if the value of locker side from the one row of data retrievedfrom locker database 44-11 is not same as locker side from the finalstore pickup data then the service provider (P) would terminate thevalidation process. If the validation process continues, if theAccessTye is ‘N’, if the value of status from the one row of dataretrieved from locker database 44-11 is ‘A’, if the value of locationfrom the one row of data retrieved from locker database 44-11 type is‘W’, if the value of front side lock status from the one row of dataretrieved from locker database 44-11 is ‘L’, if the number of rows inthe final store pickup data is 1, if the value of locker number from theone row of data retrieved from locker database 44-11 is same as lockernumber from the final store pickup data and if the value of locker sidefrom the one row of data retrieved from locker database 44-11 is same aslocker side from the final store pickup data then the service provider(P) would update store pickup database 44-15 for the OrderNumber in thefirst row in the final store pickup data with ‘Y’ for Authenticated.

If the validation process continues, if the AccessTye is ‘N’, if thevalue of status from the one row of data retrieved from locker database44-11 is ‘A’, if the value of location from the one row of dataretrieved from locker database 44-11 type is ‘W’, if the value of frontside lock status from the one row of data retrieved from locker database44-11 is ‘L’, if the number of rows in the final store pickup data is 1,if the value of locker number from the one row of data retrieved fromlocker database 44-11 is same as locker number from the final storepickup data if the value of locker side from the one row of dataretrieved from locker database 44-11 is same as locker side from thefinal store pickup data and if the updating of store pickup database44-15 is not successful then the service provider (P) would terminatethe validation process. If the validation process continues, if theAccessTye is ‘N’, if the value of status from the one row of dataretrieved from locker database 44-11 is ‘A’, if the value of locationfrom the one row of data retrieved from locker database 44-11 type is‘W’, if the value of front side lock status from the one row of dataretrieved from locker database 44-1 is ‘L’, if the number of rows in thefinal store pickup data is 1, if the value of locker number from the onerow of data retrieved from locker database 44-11 is same as lockernumber from the final store pickup data if the value of locker side fromthe one row of data retrieved from locker database 44-11 is same aslocker side from the final store pickup data and if the updating ofstore pickup database 44-15 is successful then the service provider (P)would set the value ‘1’ to ReturnCode, set the value ‘Success’ toSuccessMsg, populate the values MerchantId, LocationId, OrderNumber,ConsumerId, CheckedIn, LockerNumber, LockerSide, Authenticated,AuthCode, ExpirationDate, ExpirationTime from the updated row in storepickup database 44-15 and set the value ‘ ’ for LockSerialNumber and endthe validation process

If the advance authentication request is for counter locker that alsoshares with drive-thru locker, then the back side of the locker must belocked, and the counter locker has been assigned to the order in theadvance authentication request.

If the validation process continues, if the AccessTye is ‘N’, if thevalue of status from the one row of data retrieved from locker database44-11 is ‘A’, if the value of location from the one row of dataretrieved from locker database 44-11 type is ‘B’ if the value of backside lock status from the one row of data retrieved from locker database44-1 is not ‘L’ then the service provider (P) would terminate thevalidation process. If the validation process continues, if theAccessTye is ‘N’, if the value of status from the one row of dataretrieved from locker database 44-11 is ‘A’, if the value of locationfrom the one row of data retrieved from locker database 44-11 type is‘B’, if the value of back side lock status from the one row of dataretrieved from locker database 44-1 is ‘L’ and if the number of rows inthe final store pickup data is not 1 then the service provider (P) wouldterminate the validation process. If the validation process continues,if the AccessTye is ‘N’, if the value of status from the one row of dataretrieved from locker database 44-11 is ‘A’, if the value of locationfrom the one row of data retrieved from locker database 44-11 type is‘B’, if the value of back side lock status from the one row of dataretrieved from locker database 44-11 is ‘L’ and if the value of lockerNumber from the one row of data retrieved from locker database 44-11 isnot same as locker number from the final store pickup data then theservice provider (P) would terminate the validation process. If thevalidation process continues, if the AccessTye is ‘N’, if the value ofstatus from the one row of data retrieved from locker database 44-11 is‘A’, if the value of location from the one row of data retrieved fromlocker database 44-11 type is ‘B’, if the value of back side lock statusfrom the one row of data retrieved from locker database 44-11 is ‘L’ andif the value of locker side from the one row of data retrieved fromlocker database 44-11 is not same as locker side from the final storepickup data then the service provider (P) would terminate the validationprocess. If the validation process continues, if the AccessTye is ‘N’,if the value of status from the one row of data retrieved from lockerdatabase 44-11 is ‘A’, if the value of location from the one row of dataretrieved from locker database 44-11 type is ‘B’, if the value of backside lock status from the one row of data retrieved from locker database44-11 is ‘L’, if the number of rows in the final store pickup data is 1,if the value of locker number from the one row of data retrieved fromlocker database 44-11 is same as locker number from the final storepickup data and if the value of locker side from the one row of dataretrieved from locker database 44-11 is same as locker side from thefinal store pickup data then the service provider (P) would update storepickup database 44-15 for the OrderNumber in the first row in the finalstore pickup data with ‘Y’ for Authenticated. If the validation processcontinues, if the AccessTye is ‘N’, if the value of status from the onerow of data retrieved from locker database 44-11 is ‘A’, if the value oflocation from the one row of data retrieved from locker database 44-11type is ‘B’, if the value of back side lock status from the one row ofdata retrieved from locker database 44-11 is ‘L’, if the number of rowsin the final store pickup data is 1, if the value of locker number fromthe one row of data retrieved from locker database 44-11 is same aslocker number from the final store pickup data if the value of lockerside from the one row of data retrieved from locker database 44-11 issame as locker side from the final store pickup data and if the updatingof store pickup database 44-15 is not successful then the serviceprovider (P) would terminate the validation process. If the validationprocess continues, if the AccessTye is ‘N’, if the value of status fromthe one row of data retrieved from locker database 44-11 is ‘A’, if thevalue of location from the one row of data retrieved from lockerdatabase 44-11 type is ‘B’, if the value of back side lock status fromthe one row of data retrieved from locker database 44-11 is ‘L’, if thenumber of rows in the final store pickup data is 1, if the value oflocker number from the one row of data retrieved from locker database44-11 is same as locker number from the final store pickup data if thevalue of locker side from the one row of data retrieved from lockerdatabase 44-11 is same as locker side from the final store pickup dataand if the updating of store pickup database 44-15 is successful thenthe service provider (P) would set the value ‘1’ to ReturnCode, set thevalue ‘Success’ to SuccessMsg, populate the values MerchantId,LocationId, OrderNumber, ConsumerId, CheckedIn, LockerNumber,LockerSide, Authenticated, AuthCode, ExpirationDate, ExpirationTime fromthe updated row in store pickup database 44-15 and set the value ‘ ’ forLockSerialNumber and end the validation process.

If the validation process is terminated then the service provider (P)would set a value other than ‘1’ to ReturnCode, set an appropriate valueto ErrorMsg where the validation process was terminated in thevalidation process, set values for OrderNumber, ConsumerId, CheckedIn,LockSerialNumber, AuthCode, ExpirationDate, and ExpirationTime from thevalues received in the content and set blank for LockerNumber, blank forLockerSide and blank for Authenticated.

The service provider would respond to the store pickup authcode requestwith the successful or error message based on the validation process andthe format of successful or error message would be in the same format ofthe store pickup authcode request message. The store pickup authcoderequest message can be in any number of formats such as xml, j son,delimited text etc. An example in xml format 51-A is shown in FIG. 51-A.

Store Pickup Locker Status Request API Process:

When the service provider (P) receives a store pickup locker statusrequest the service provider (P) would verify the origin and the contentof the request.

When the service provider receives a store pickup locker status requestthrough a previously established communication channel by the serviceprovider (P) from merchants (M), the service provider (P) would initiatea validation process and the first and foremost task of the validationprocess would be to save the IP address from which the request wasreceived and saving the values of a set of variables in the requestwhich is shown as an sample in FIG. 52-A namely MerchantId, LocationIdand Password. Then the service provider (P) would determine whether therequest is received from a valid IP address by verifying the IP addressof the request with the IP addresses provided by various merchants (M).The merchants (M) maintain their information in merchant (M) database(44-9) and as per the schema 28-1 as shown in FIG. 28 where the schemaalso includes the IP addresses. The service provider (P) would determinebased on the IP address, the origin of the request by the merchantid andthe locationid. It is possible to have more than one locationid for thesame merchantid, because several locations under one merchant (M) mayshare the same IP address.

If the origin of the request is valid then the service provider (P)would compare MerchantId, LocationId and Password from the merchantdatabase 44-9 with the MerchantId, LocationId and Password received bythe service provider (P) in the content of the request to get a uniquemerchant (M) and a location. If a unique merchant (M) and a location isidentified then the validation process will continue, otherwise thevalidation process will terminate.

If the verification process continues, then the service provider (P)would retrieve LockerNumber, LocationType, NoOfDoors, FrontSideLockType,FrontDoorLockSerialNumber, FrontSideLockStatus, BackSideLockType,BackDoorLockSerialNumber, BackSideLockStatus from the most recent rowsof information for each locker from locker database 44-11 where theowner id is ‘M-’ plus MerchantId received in the content, plus ‘-’, plusLocationId received in the content to create the final locker data.

If the verification process continues, then the service provider (P)would merge OrderNumber and CheckedIn from store pickup database 44-15into the final locker data. If the verification process continues, thenthe service provider (P) would retrieve OrderNumber and CheckedIn fromthe most recent rows of information for each order from store pickupdatabase 44-15 where a locker number has been assigned and same as alockernumber in one of the rows in the final locker data and add theOrderNumber and CheckedIn into the one of rows in the final locker data.

The service provider would send the successful or error message based onthe validation process and the format of successful or error messagewould be in the same format of the Store Pickup Locker Status Request.An example of the request message in xml format 52-A is shown in FIG.52-A and an example of the response message in xml format 52-R is shownin FIG. 52-R.

If the verification process continues, then the service provider (P)would populate the response message by setting a value of ‘1’ toReturnCode, by setting the text ‘Success’ to SuccessMsg, by settingblank to ErrorMsg, by setting the number of rows of information in thefinal locker data to NoOnLocker and then populating LockerNumber,LockerType, NoOfDoors, FrontSideLockType, FrontDoorLockSerialNumber,FrontSideLockStatus, BackSideLockType, BackDoorLockSerialNumber,BackLockStatus, OrderNumber and CheckedIn for each locker using thecorresponding values in the final locker data.

If the verification process terminated, then the service provider (P)would populate a value other than ‘1’ to ReturnCode, by setting blank toSuccelassMsg, by setting an appropriate message depending on where theverification process was terminated to ErrorMsg, by setting a value ‘0’to NoOnLocker.

The service provider would respond to the Store Pickup Locker StatusRequest with the successful or error message based on the validationprocess and the requestor (seller) would use the successful or errormessage in one or more of their computer applications.

Mobile App Gateway:

The consumer locker owners (O), joint owners and authorized users (U)can use the mobile app distributed by the service provider. The consumerlocker owners (O), joint owners and authorized users (U) arecollectively referred as mobile app users. The mobile app users wouldsubmit a request through the mobile app where the request would becommunicated to the service provider's server through mobile appgateway. The mobile app request would be a request for an advanceauthentication.

Upon successful validation of data, if the request relates to anetworked lock then the service provider (P) would set the flag foradvance authentication. Upon successful validation of data, if therequest relates to a standalone lock then the service provider (P) wouldreturn an authcode. Upon successful validation of data, if the requestrelates to a tracking number that require a signature and if therecipient's signature is available, then the service provider (P) wouldinclude the signature in the response. When the mobile app users tap onthe submit button in the mobile app as shown in FIG. 41, the mobile appwould populate the variables DeviceIdentifier, MobileNumber,MobileLatitude, MobileLongitude, LockSearialNumber and TrackingNumber.The mobile app would get the information from the mobile device topopulate the variables DeviceIdentifier, MobileNumber, MobileLatitude,MobileLongitude and the mobile app would capture the values from userinput to populate the variables LockSearialNumber and TrackingNumber.The MobileLatitude and MobileLongitude are the GPS (Global PositioningSystem) coordinates based on the current location of the mobile device.

When the service provider (P) receives a mobile app request from amobile device, the service provider (P) would verify the origin of themobile app request and the content of the mobile app request. If theorigin of the request and the content of the request are valid then theservice provider (P) would set the advance authentication flag to ‘Y’for the requested lock in case of networked locks or would respond withan authcode in case of standalone locks. On the other hand, if theorigin of the request is invalid, then the service provider (P) may notsend any response back to the mobile device. If the origin of therequest is valid, but the content of the request is invalid then theservice provider (P) would send an error response back to the mobiledevice.

When the service provider (P) receives a mobile app request the serviceprovider (P) would populate required variables app_ownerid,app_lockernumber, app_lockerside, app_requestdate, app_requesttime,app_requestortype, app_requestorid, app_requestorsubid,app_trackingnumber, app_expirationdate, app_expirationtime, app_status,app_returnmsg, app_jointowneryn, app_lockernumber, app_side,app_locktype and app_process with blanks.

When the service provider (P) receives a mobile app request the serviceprovider (P) would initiate a validation process and the first andforemost task of the validation process would be to determine whetherthe request is received from a specific valid mobile device by verifyingDeviceIdentifier, MobileNumber. The locker owner (O) maintains mobiledevice identifier and mobile phone number in their locker owner database44-8 as per the schema 27-1 where each mobile device identifier pertainsto a single mobile device and each mobile phone number pertain to asingle mobile device and each combination of mobile device identifierand mobile phone number pertain to a single mobile device and used bylocker owners. The locker owner (O) also maintains mobile deviceidentifier and mobile phone number in their mobile device database 44-14as per the schema 33-1 where each mobile device identifier pertains to asingle mobile device each mobile phone number pertain to a single mobiledevice and each combination of mobile device identifier and mobile phonenumber pertain to a single mobile device used by individual joint ownersand authorized users (U). In case where the mobile device is not amobile phone, for example an iPad or android pad, then the mobile numbercan be blank.

If a single most recent row of locker owner information can be retrievedfrom owner database 44-8 by matching DeviceIdentifier with mobile deviceidentifier in the owner database 44-8 and MobileNumber with mobile phonenumber in the owner database 44-8 and if the value of status in thesingle most recent row of locker owner information from the ownerdatabase 44-8 is ‘A’, then the service provider (P) would populate thevariables app_ownerid with the value of owner id in the single mostrecent row of locker owner information, app_requestortype with ‘O’,app_requestorid with app_ownerid and app_requestorsubid with app_owneridand the validation process will continue otherwise if a single mostrecent row of mobile device information can be retrieved from mobiledevice database 44-14 by matching DeviceIdentifier with mobile deviceidentifier in the mobile device database 44-14 and MobileNumber withmobile phone number in the mobile device database 44-14 and if the valueof status in the single most recent row of mobile device informationfrom the mobile device database 44-14 is ‘A’, then the service provider(P) would populate the variables app_ownerid with the value of owner idin the single most recent row of mobile device information,app_requestortype with ‘D’, app_requestorid with app_ownerid,app_requestorsubid with the value of mobile device identifier in thesingle most recent row of mobile device information and app_jointownerynwith the value of joint owner yn in the single most recent row of mobiledevice information and the validation process will continue otherwise itwill terminate.

If the validation process continues and if LockSearialNumber is notblank then the validation process will continue otherwise it willterminate.

If the validation process continues, then the validation process willvalidate the LockSearialNumber. The service provider (P) would retrievethe most recent row of locker information from locker database 44-11 bymatching the LockSearialNumber with front side lock serial number orwith back side lock serial number of the locker database 44-11. If onerow of locker information from locker database 44-11 is retrieved and ifLockSearialNumber is sane as front side lock serial number in the mostrecent row of locker information then the service provider (P) wouldpopulate the variable app_locktype with front side lock type in the mostrecent row of locker information and app_side with ‘F’. If one row oflocker information from locker database 44-11 is retrieved and ifLockSearialNumber is sane as back side lock serial number in the mostrecent row of locker information then the service provider (P) wouldpopulate the variable app_locktype with back side lock type in the mostrecent row of locker information and app_side with ‘B’. If one row oflocker information from locker database 44-11 is retrieved and the valueof status in the one row of locker information is ‘A’ then the serviceprovider (P) would populate app_lockernumber with locker number in themost recent row of locker information and the validation process willcontinue otherwise it will terminate.

If the validation process continues and if the value of app_ownerid issame as the value of owner id in the most recent row of lockerinformation, then the validation process will continue otherwise it willterminate.

If the validation process continues and if app_side is ‘B’ and ifapp_jointowneryn is ‘N’ then the validation process will terminate.

If the validation process continues and if app_side is ‘F’ and ifapp_locktype is ‘S’ then the service provider (P) would populateapp_process with ‘A’.

If the validation process continues then the service provider wouldretrieve the most recent row of information from authcode database 44-12by matching owner id with app_ownerid, locker number withapp_lockernumber, locker side with app_lockerside and tracking numberwith TrackingNumber.

If the validation process continues if one row of information isretrieved from authcode database 44-12 and the value of authcode statusin the one row of information is not ‘A’, then the service provider (P)would terminate the validation process.

If the validation process continues if one row of information isretrieved from authcode database 44-12, then the service provider (P)would set app_returnmsg with the value of authcode from the one row ofinformation retrieved from authcode database 44-12.

If the validation process continues and if one row of information isretrieved from authcode database 44-12 and if the value of signature inthe one row of information is not blank, then the service provider (P)would append app_returnmsg with the value of signature in the one row ofinformation.

If the validation process continues and if one row of information isretrieved from authcode database 44-12 then the service provider (P)would append app_returnmsg with the text ‘enter the code and pressUNLOCK button’ and end the validation process.

If the validation process continues and if app_process is ‘A’ then theservice provider (P) would terminate the validation process.

If the validation process continues, then the service provider wouldretrieve the most recent row of information from authentication database44-13 by matching owner id with app_ownerid, locker number withapp_lockernumber, locker side with app_lockerside.

If the validation process continues and if one row of information isretrieved from authentication database 44-13 and the value ofauthentication status in the one row of information is ‘A’, then theservice provider (P) would set app_returnmsg with the text ‘Press unlockbutton’ and end the validation process.

If the validation process continues and if one row of information isretrieved from authentication database 44-13, then the service provider(P) would terminate the validation process.

If the validation process continues, then the service provider (P) wouldset the values for app_expirationdate and app_expirationtime by adding adefault expiration interval set by the service provider (P) which may be30 seconds to the current date and time and the service provider (P)would insert one row of information into authentication database 44-13using the values app_ownerid, app_lockernumber, app_lockerside, currentdate, current time, app_requestortype, app_requestorid,app_requestorsubid, app_trackingnumber, app_expirationdate,app_expirationtime and ‘A’ for the fields in the authentication database44-13 respectively as shown in the representative schema 32-1 in FIG.32.

If the validation process continues and if the insert of one row ofinformation into authentication database 44-13 is successful, then theservice provider (P) would set app_returnmsg with the text ‘Press unlockbutton’ and end the validation process.

If the validation process continues, then the service provider (P) wouldterminate the validation process.

If the validation process is terminated during validation, then theservice provider (P) would set app_returnmsg with the text ‘Requestrejected’.

The service provider (P) would return the value of the variableapp_returnmsg.

I claim:
 1. A computer implemented system for a user to authorize a service client's access to a secured electronic storage box, the computer implemented system comprising: a storage box having a first uniquely identifiable number and at least one door secured by a lock having a secured and an unsecured position; at least one interface adapted to receive and transmit data in communication with a user's application and a service client's application; one or more servers in secure communication with the at least one interface and the lock, the one or more servers having: a first instruction embodied in a computer readable medium, the first instruction operable to receive registration information received from the user through at least one interface, the registration information comprising a user identifier and the first uniquely identifiable number; a second instruction embodied in a computer readable medium, the second instruction operable to generate an authorization code comprising: the first uniquely identifiable number; a first uniquely identifying tracking number; and a first requester identifier; a third instruction embodied in a computer readable medium, the third instruction operable to receive an authorization request received from the service client through at least one interface comprising a second requestor identifier, a second uniquely identifiable number, and a second uniquely identifying tracking number; a fourth instruction embodied in a computer readable medium, the fourth instruction operable to switch the lock to the unsecured position if the first requester identifier, the first uniquely identifiable number, and the first uniquely identifying tracking number of the authorization request matches the second requester identifier, the second uniquely identifiable number, and the second uniquely identifying tracking number. 